Reception friendships

[Whatdoyoureckon90]

Just wondering how fluid friendships are in Reception?

My little boy has just turned 5 and has always been really friendly and sociable. He had a little group of 3 really close friends from early on, but lately I’ve noticed those friendships drifting a bit. They seem to want to play different things now, and while I still see him trying with them sometimes, they mostly don’t seem that interested.

He’s not really got a new group, more that he floats between different children rather than having a set bunch. Every few days he’s playing with different kids. I see a lot of other kids pairing up quite solidly, whereas he’s just kind of a little bit with everyone. He gets invited to lots of parties, which is lovely, but hasn’t had any playdate invites yet - although to be fair, I haven’t arranged any either.

When I ask him about it, he says his original friends don’t want to play what he does ever, and that he wanted to do something different. It’s hard not to worry, but I’m wondering if this is just part of growing up at this age.

Is this kind of thing normal at this age? Do kids usually stick with their Reception friends into Year 1, or do things tend to shift around?

Just having a bit of a mum wobble and would love to hear how it’s been for others.

I think at this point it's common for things to change, probably quickly and often tbh.

My son is also 5 and went into reception with half a dozen kids from his nursery. Three of them are still very close knit, but one has broken off quite recently to play more with another group and often ignores the 3, sometimes even actively says "I'm not playing with you now I'm playing with xyz".

One boy is in the same class as his cousin and they're close, but recently he's playing more with the boisterous boys and she had a brief stint with a couple of "popular" girls but this was pretty short lived and she's now started sitting with my son and the other 2 and talking about scooby doo 🤣

I'm just typing all this out and wondering why on earth I know so much about this - I don't do pick ups but do every drop off, arrive early as my son is autistic and hates being "late" so I often chat to the other mums then and I see the kids arriving and who do and so is best pals with that week!

I wouldn't worry @Whatdoyoureckon90 it sounds he's doing ok, there's nothing wrong with flitting around different groups! But if you feel he maybe needs a bit of help to form some closer friendships - maybe try to catch one or two names and put yourself out there and ask about a play date or two? X

In my experience (mum of 3 and primary teacher), friendships change around quite a bit until y2/3 then change again in y6!