Do your toddlers have friends ??

[mumtosp]

Hi all,

DS is 19 mo but doesn't have any friends :( I work full time and DS goes to a CM where all other kids are much older them him (4-7 yo). Most of our friends either don;t have kids or have older kids... I was just thinking about DS turning 2 and how he doesn't have any friends his age to invite to his b'day party and that just made me a bit sad :(

DS is actually a very happy child and loves going to his CM and all the attention he gets from the older kids.... I was just wondering if it's too soon for DS to have friends and whether I am over thinking this...

TIA :)

Honestly don't worry.

Family is his bedrock. Then he'll start school and make friends.

No need to rush!

I don't think toddler friends are that significant to our toddlers tbh. I remember being a small child (pre school) and other kids weren't that important to me. That came later.

Have a gorgeous little birthday party and don't give it a second thought

Both our DDs were at nursery at that age and they had children there that they played with more than others. We occasionally invited them and their parents round for coffee and cake on a weekend and the kids would play alongside each other. But I wouldn't say they really had friends when they were 2. We only had family birthday parties when they were that age. By 3 it was a different story though. Also we had moved to a different place and there was a lot more interaction with neighbours' kids (who were also at the same nursery). DD2 had a three or four friends over when she turned 3 which went surprisingly well!

My DS doesn't really have friends. I do take him to baby and toddler groups, but he's always seemed slightly out of sync age wise, which is just bad luck. We didn't do NCT classes, so no ready made friends there. And my social life still revolves around my old friends, who either have no children or older children. I have to admit, it does bother me a bit but I'm hoping it'll sort itself out in time.

I had twin boys, and they didn't have any 'friends' until they started school. They preferred eachothers company and were very shy anyway

My 2 yo DD though has a friend :) A little girl we do the school run with, a couple of months older than mine and they are lovely together.
My DD is a proper social butterfly though, she just loves people! Says hello to everyone, joins in with random children at soft play/parks etc
I think this is a side effect of having older brothers ;) she just expects everyone to like her and want to play etc.

I really wouldn't worry, my boys have plenty of friends now, even though they didn't at 2-3 :D

What tinyTheTortoise DS has a little group of friends as the mums of these kids are my friends I met through toddlers he asks for them and they run around like a little gang at soft play but DN never had any proper friends until school now you can't walk down the street without some random child shouting hello to her.

DD never had any particular friends until maybe Y1 at school? She was just happy in her own company I think? It was great as birthday parties meant I could invite my friends with kids, now she's just about to turn 7 and is getting seriously into party planning (I liked it better before..!)

Thanks all... I feel so much better having read your replies!! :)