My Daughter Would Rather Play with Me than Other kids...is That Normal?

Hi, S..
Your daughter sounds perfectly normal. In fact, how wonderful that she enjoys playing independently! I taught preschool for 10 years with 4 year olds. This is the time when kids begin to play interactively, rather than the parallel play of two and three year olds. (two children side by side playing-not much interaction). She must enjoy being with you and her sister, which is great! I'll bet if she's with one or two other kids on a play date at their house with you not there, she might interact more. Or, it could be that she is a little shy, which is perfectly fine, also. She is lucky to have her little sister and you as built -in playmates.
I would observe my son and daughter when they were little and sometimes I worried that they were not as outgoing as I am (which is my issue, not theirs :-). They are now 12 and 21 and are amazing people with friends, but they also enjoy their alone time.
Enjoy this sweet time while you have them with you. Play as much as you can with them. They'll grow up so fast. When she seems ready, just have one other child over to play. I'm now a play therapist, working clinically with kids who are stressed out and sometimes overloaded with activites with other children.
Best of luck to you!
D.

HI S.,

YOUR DAUGHTER IS PERFECTLY FINE. ALL OF MY 3 WOULD RATHER PLAY WITH EACH OTHER OR ME THAN OTHER KIDS. I THINK ITS BECAUSE WE STAY AT HOME AND THAT IS THIER COMFORT ZONE. I WOULD NOT WORRY AT ALL.

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

D. Mattern-Muck
The MOM Team
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"The only thing that counts is faith, expressing itself through love." Galatians 5:6

normal. enjoy it while it lasts and show her that she is welcome with you all the time. This will change and it will break your heart.

I sincerely regret pushing my daughter to play with others. I miss her so much now and I wonder what it made her feel like then.

Hi S.-

Most likely your daughter is perfectly fine and she is just more comfortable with you and her sister and will make friends in her own time. I don't want to worry you or scare you but I'm going to share with you our story so that you can get help if it's warranted.

Our son (now 6) also did not socialize with other children when he was 3-4 years old. He was enrolled in a pre-K program and had a lot of difficulty separating from me in the morning. It got better over time however he was always playing by himself and never with others. For almost a year I told myself he was just shy and that he would outgrow it in his own time. When it didn't seem to be getting any better, that along with a few other things led us to a developmental pediatrician who diagnosed our son with Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism. Again I'm not trying to worry you but I think it's worth reading about and seeing if there are any other signs present in your daughter other than the delay in social skills so that you can get help for her if it's necessary. For a good description go to Webmd.com and search for Aspergers. It will provide a good description and you can see if it fits your daughter or not.

Good luck with everything and feel free to send me a note if you have any questions.

Best Wishes,
K.

Suggestion:Play with your daughter with the other children?
I along with the other moms think she is normal.Thank goodness for your other child
Best Wishes
S.