Not mixing with other kids

[Rathyma]

Hi everyone. I'm not sure whether I should be worried about my boy or not. He's 2 years 4 months old and goes to nursery. He's VERY clever and knows an incredible amount about animals and dinosaurs. He has a great imagination and likes to pretend that we are a family of sealions. To the point where he only wants us to call him Boy Sealion. He said to me today "I don't have any friends at nursery because I'm a boy sealion". He IS very shy and I worry how well he relates to other kids his age. His nursery nurses say he's fine, but I don't know whether I should worry about him.
Any advice would be very gratefully received.

He is less than 2 and a half so its fairly normal for children to play along side other children or on their own at that age. I am a little surprised at his speech, does he clearly say "I don't have any friends at nursery because I'm a boy sealion?" That's a fairly advanced phrase to be using at that age.

I would imagine that he will begin to make friends and initiate/respond to other children when he is ready in a year or so.

I don't wish to be rude but I kind of cringe when people say their child is very clever and so on as quite often it isn't the case! (Not saying that is the case with you as I have never seen your child so can't comment )

Parallel play is perfectly normal at that age.

If he is used to getting everyone playing his games at home, he might not understand why the children at nursery don't want to play according to his rules. They are probably being cars or whatever themselves, and can't see why your DS doesn't want to do that.

I'm sure he will join in with the other children when he's ready.

Most children do not interact with others when playing until about 3. So too early for friendships at the moment. Children can also learn compartmentally, so they can be really switched on at something you have worked on ( the names of dinosaurs) but know nothing about breeds of birds or be reading, for example. It's just the way it is. Have you or has someone else read him a book about seal lions or have he seen a family of them at the zoo? He probably has not just dreamed this up. He will probably get on well with others when he is ready.

Yes, I second that. He is probably used to getting lots of adult attention at home and is leading what happens in play. If you all go along with calling him Boy Sealion he wont be too impressed that nursery are not following. Its probably a good idea to not put too much emphasis on calling him names that he chooses for himself as it can lead to problems later on when joining school if he still insists on it.

Thanks everyone. Yes I know the "he's terribly advanced" is cringeworthy! He is a fluent speaker and is way beyond his years intellectually. I have to remind myself that emotionally and socially he's still very young. He's also very tall and looks old. If we meet any 4 year old he looks like he should be on a par with them, but doesn't understand them socially/emotionally. He's the youngest in his room at nursery.
He's a sponge with animals/dinos and remembers everything he hears about them.
I think I just need to wait for his emotions to catch up with his brain!
Thanks again!