My son J has a very good friend that he’s known for ages right from preschool through to school. They’ve always got on well and in some ways it was a relationship, I didn’t really think about because it seemed to come so naturally. So it was down to earth with a bump when we found out that his friend didn’t want to play because he was scared.
I was a bit bemused to begin with as my son is a fairly gentle soul. We’ve never had any complaints about him apart from the state of his handwriting. So it was a real shock to find out J’s friend was scared of him.
With hindsight I had noticed and J had complained about his friend hitting him. I’d pick that up when J was with me, but it seems it had been going on in the playground too. I think J had just got fed up of it happening so often and had taken matters into his own hands. He’d taken things a bit too far though and managed to frighten his friend rather than just warn him off. Now they need to work together to put their friendship back on equal terms. Friendships are a tricky business even when you’re 6 years old.
…and they don’t get easier! x