How do you get your 7 year old daughter friends?

[Sgrace079]

I have a 7 year old beautiful, kind and caring daughter. I choose a different school outwith her catchment area because it was a really good school.

She has friends when she is at school but none where we stay. Although it's a huge new development. There are not any children her age in our street but loads nearby.
How do I get her to make/encourage her to make friends with the kids around here when we don't know anyone in our actual street.?

Maybe try going to a play park nearby and encourage her to join in with the other children? Or are there any kids groups nearby that you can enroll her into?

A play park has recently just opened where we live. I was hoping this would really help. She says she doesn't want to go because it's boring. She went with her cousin 2 weeks ago when she came to this decision.
I am thinking I should literally drag her?

Brownies. Or other local clubs. Not so useful this side of the summer holidays but come September.

Don't force her to the play park but explain its a good way to meet people nearby and friends close to home are really good to have as you can go out to play together.

Take some pop it/fidget toys as all the kids here love them so a good ice breaker! Or a ball.

Brownies or Beavers or Girls; Brigade

Or football or dance or whatever other sport she might fancy.

You can't "get" your dd friends, but if she is exposed to groups of people she sees regularly, then it is much more likely she will begin to make friends with others.

However, this is one of several reasons I always advocate attending your local Primary school as being a good idea in the overwhelming majority of cases.

Classes? Brownies. Dancing. Some sports? She sounds lovely I'm.sure she would make friends easily xx

Any local activity that she'll have a go at. More local the better & a variety. She may then make local friends

I have put her name down for Brownies here. Unfortunately there seems to be a waiting list.
She goes to a gymnasics class but that's quite far away and not in our local area.

That's actually a really good idea to take a fidget popper with us.

Sorry on the subject does anyone know roughly how much brownies is...getting ideas 💡😅

@CrouchEndTiger12

Sorry on the subject does anyone know roughly how much brownies is...getting ideas 💡😅

Depends totally on the Group. Often it will be dictated by how much rent they have to pay. I know more about Beavers / Cubs / Scouts / Explorers where "average" seems to be about £12pm or about £40 per term. Scouts was overwhelmingly the cheapest activity any of my dc did throughout all their childhood years, and by far and away the best value.

@crouchendtiger my dds both attended girls brigade. Its costs me £2 a week each. Uniform is their tshirt which is £10 and black bottoms (only strictly required for the awards evening once a year) they do camp once they are 9. That was around £120 for 5 nights. Eldest dd has decided she doesn't want to go anymore but my youngest loves it still.

@sgrace079 do you have any local soft play, swimming pool or similar? Or local events - we often have fundays arranged at parks. These are great ways to meet new people.
I think taking fidget toys to the park is a fantastic idea, my dd makes a new bestie every time we go to a park or the beach 😂
Or how about you try and make friends with local mums/dads then can arrange play dates?

@Sgrace079

I have put her name down for Brownies here. Unfortunately there seems to be a waiting list. She goes to a gymnasics class but that's quite far away and not in our local area.

Often numbers are limited due to number of volunteers. Offer to help and you might get a space. Same for most grassroots sports. Volunteering yourself is a great way to meet adults with same age kids.

Does she see her cousin often? If so, cousin is a friend.

It will all happen op but sometimes these things take longer than you would have hoped.

If you or/and partner drive, she could see people from school if invited, and visa versa. Though her school may be out of your catchment area, I don't suppose it is very far away.

You make friends with the other mums and dads at the school gate, especially the ones who are parents of kids you know to be not-foul and then you ask them if their kid wants a playdate. When the kid is younger than about 8, that's how it works.

You make friends with the other mums and dads at the school gate, especially the ones who are parents of kids you know to be not-foul and then you ask them if their kid wants a playdate. When the kid is younger than about 8, that's how it works

Jeeze! Is that how it works now?

My parents never did anything like that for me back in the 1940s and 50s and I still managed to make friends. I got off my bum and made them myself without my patents to arrange my social life for me. They were too busy keeping food on the table.

@memberofthewedding

You make friends with the other mums and dads at the school gate, especially the ones who are parents of kids you know to be not-foul and then you ask them if their kid wants a playdate. When the kid is younger than about 8, that's how it works

Jeeze! Is that how it works now?

My parents never did anything like that for me back in the 1940s and 50s and I still managed to make friends. I got off my bum and made them myself without my patents to arrange my social life for me. They were too busy keeping food on the table.

Besides @Guineapigbridge it states in the op that it's not school friends that's the issue, but making friends in the area where they live.

How busy is your street? Where I live, some people close their streets once a month or so and let the kids play out. I think the scheme is called playing out.