at what age did your children start to make 'real' friends?

[fordfiesta]

Am not worried about it really... just curious. Ds seems to remember all the adult influences ie one particular nursery assistant and his child minder, in his life and when you ask who his friends are he says that they are.
I think it is probably just because they are the only names he can remember. He is nearly 3.

You will probably notice in the next year that he starts taking more interest in other children. My ds is 4 and he has quite a few friends from nursery. These friendships have developed a lot over the last year and he now regularly asks for friends to play.

I cant wait for him to ask for 'friends to play'..... bet i regret saying that in a years time!

DS (23m) has a friend who was born the day after him and who he has never not known. He's always asking to look at pictures of him and when he's coming over. The excitement when he does visit is huge. I would say they're genuine friends. Not sure about his nursery friends yet, although he does talk about them to me.

DD started at around 3. Although its only now at 3.5 that I would say she has proper friends that she wants to play with. She comes home from nursery school and says ' I played with so and so today, theyre my best friend'
Up until then she prefered to play with nursery assistants or by herself.

DS didn't notice other kids as friends until he was four and in reception, and only then I think because the teachers were really focussing on friendship as part of the settling in process.

To be perfectly honest most of the boys in his class are horrible to each other so I am unsure if I would call them friends! It's either beat each other up, or SAY you're friends but then disagree with everything the other child says, try to be first at everything, sabotage your friends so that you CAN be first at everything....etc etc

it's a cruel world, the playground

Honoria.... Lol!......... Best i dont hang around the play ground and watch them play then!!!!

About 2.9.

yes ford, I recommend you avoid it, it's more frightening than an 18 cert film!

From my experience, following their 3rd birthday.

At Kindy (which was 4 for ds). I think seeing the same bunch of children every day and having a lot of them to choose from helped.

At 3 when asked if he had a brother or sister (he doesn't) he said yes, when asked their name he said "daddy".