Introvert mum - scared child will have no friends

[Sesicilana]

I am a single mum with one child (3year old boy) and very introverted-really only socialise at work. I take my child to swim and for play group once a week. He is an only child and goes to nursery. However I really struggle with making friends - not sure I even want to. And childhood is very different from when I grew up in small village and just went exploring as a child making friends. We live in London and I’m worried he will be lonely and have no play dates or I can’t even imagine throwing him birthday party when I can’t talk to other parents. Any advice? Or just reassurance he will be fine...

You're going to need go bite the bullet and talk to other parents if you want him to have friends outside of nursery/school. He'll play with kids when he's there, but if you want him to foster closer relationships you'll need to do that for him - he's too little to ask for playdates himself. This is something you need to get past for the good of your kid, unfortunately.

I'm an introvert mum and my children have managed ok, I'm sure he'll be fine. The older they get the less you have to be involved anyway - you can have another child round to yours without their mum having to stay the whole time, and vice versa. It's still worth trying to get to know some of the mums though, you never know when you might hit it off. Being introvert doesn't mean you always have to be alone, just that you need some time to yourself after socialising,