Nearly 6 and will only play with one friend

[Libertypancake]

Hi All

I’m a (very involved) step mum to a six year old who stays with us 50/50.
She has a couple of very good friends, one at school, one neighbourhood friend and then similar when she is with her mum.
The problem is, if the one friend that she is playing with at the time wants to play with both her and another child (or children), she can’t cope. I think she feels left out and she finds it difficult to play with any children unless it’s one on one.
We are trying to coax her out of it. I don’t think it’s her being difficult, as such. More I don’t think she knows how to handle the dynamics of playing with a group (however small) of children.
We have had a few issues lately with naughtiness, not listening and a bit of an issue with a child in her class but we do not feel it is anything out of the ordinary, probably just a phase although of course we are keeping an eye on it.

(And just for those who might question, obviously the fact that she splits her life in 2 different houses is not ideal, but largely speaking, there is no animosity and all relationships are good).

Any advice would be much appreciated and if anyone has experienced this before, did you find it to be a phase or something that needed some more intervention??

Thank you!!

I don't know if it is always the case, but my DD had a very strong relationship with her BF at 6, her teacher said she looked lost if the BF was away. I was scared that her friend might move away and leave DD utterly bereft. At 7 she's really branched out, has lots of friends and is fine if her BF is off school. I have put in some effort to have playdates with other DC.

So things can change. I think covid is some of the reason. At 6, they've not had a full, uninterrupted year of school.

Maybe suggest a group activity, group to the local park and bring some toys, balls, skipping ropes, so she can see group play as positive. Maybe even something like brownies.

There's a saying, 'Two's company, three's a crowd.' I do think children go through a phase when they prefer to play with just one other.

Thanks for the replies - it’s helpful to hear other people’s experiences.
She does seem to be going through a bit of a phase (I just got kicked which is extremely out of character). Something is unsettling her and I suppose we are worried that if one of her close friends decides that their relationship with my DSD is too intense that it will topple her off balance even more.