No kids want to play with her *heartbreak*

[~Raven~]

Quite often kids in that age group are very egocentric and have no patience for little ones.

I agree the parents probably could have pulled them up a bit though.

[Curly]

I agree that the parents should have pulled up their kids over this. That's quite mean behaviour and I would have come down on it like a ton of bricks.

You sound so much like me a year ago. DS was so keen to play with other kids and they all pretty much ignored him and I cried over it too. But with hindsight I can see that he was happy just being in the vicinity of other kids. On rare occasions an older child would tolerate him for a little while and my heart just broke to see how excited he was to get that attention from another kid.

You really don't need to worry just yet. It is normal for 3-4 year olds to not want to play with "babies" and 18 month olds aren't very good at playing with each other anyway, they tend to play alongside each other...it's called parallel play. My DS is 2.5 years and he and all the kids in his mother's group have really only started playing with each other properly in the last 3 or 4 months. There was a kind of transitional phase where they would briefly interact...but now they are all becoming quite chummy...and yes, a bit cliquey too. I notice the difference in how the regulars interact with the ones that are only there occasionally. And my DS is one of the cliquey ones...oh how times have changed.

Having said that, even now DS will get ignored all the time the park etc when he is with kids he doesn't know but although I still hate to see it, I am learning that it doesn't really affect him at all at this stage, especially if mummy is around. Mummy is still Number One lol. (I am a SAHM and DS doesn't go to CC).

ETA: Take the bull by the horns and suggest an outside playdate with someone from your playgroup. Probably most of the other mums are too chicken to suggest it! Even admit that you want your DD to have some more socialising and tell them what you have told us. I bet other mums there have the same worries. I did this with my MG, told them I was worried about DS' socialisation etc and DS now has regular playdates outside MG with some of the kids and it has made the world of difference...they are such good little mates now. Bare faced honesty can achieve wonderful things.

[Haydies]

Thanks for all the support girls.

I'll try not to worry about it, although I really want to see her around other kids that will interact with her. There was a lady I caught up with a couple of times who had a 2 year old little boy. Him and DD were as thick as theives. Oh my goodness it was the best thing in the world to watch them together. They'd run around, play with each other etc.

I hear what you are saying about Parallel play, but Savannah is really into actually playing with other kids. Not just beside them. She's always going up and wanting to do what ever they are doing, touch what ever they are touching (much to the annoyance of the older kids it seems).

She's always picking up toys to give to other kids, wanting to 'talk' to them, etc.

Do you live anywhere one of those indoor playcentres? My DS likes to go there (we only go occasionally for a change of scenery or on a rainy day) and there are often other kids to play with. The good thing is that there is usually a separate part for little one under 3 so there is more interaction and less chance of the taunting by the older kids.

The coffee is usually pretty bad though

We do, quite a few actually. I think there's 3, or maybe 4 near us. We've taken her there a few times - she LOVES the 'big kid' slides LOL. Adrenaline junky hehe. But so far we've yet to have any child interact with her there either. She's always trying, either giving them the balls from the ball pit, or following them around like a puppy... but so far, nothing back.


Thankyou again for all the support. Cutting my post short tonight as I'm feeling a bit emotional and a touch sensitive (not just related to this issue) and don't want to go all sooky on you. But I have read them all, so thankyou heaps!

[Tobily]

It sounds like you have an exceptionally sociable little girl for an 18 month old.
This makes it hard - because most other 18 month olds are still at the point of either wanting to play alone, or just play alongside other children without much interaction (which is very normal for that age group). And older kids who are fully mobile and more advanced communication wise don't want anything to do with "a baby".

Don't take it hard - your DD doesn't. Once her communication skills are more developed older kids will want to play with her.
My son is 2.5 and my daughter is almost 5. In the last three months my son has started speaking in full sentences and in that time, my daughter has been *much* more willing to play with him, and include him in her games. Before he could talk she had zero patience with him.

It's ok, don't worry.

[Evie76]

Well, my little boy loves little girls. I am sure he would be more than happy to play with her!!

He actually generally loves other kids, but little girls hold a special place in his heart. I think it's because (this may sound weird) they're not quite so boisterous and he's a quiet boy.

Don't stress. One day you'll be wishing she stopped bringing her friends around - conveniently at dinner time. She's just so, so, so, so cute - how could any other kid possibly resist?