If you choose to keep your preschooler at home, you’ll need to find alternative ways to give him the opportunity and the encouragement he needs to make friends. (You’d also be well advised to find ways that allow your three-year-old to spend at least a short time without you or his special caregiver so that he gets used to the care and company of other adults.) Especially if your three-year-old has never experienced daycare, he will probably find it easier to make friends in small groups rather than in large ones. So try to find a playgroup, class, or activity that might both further your child’s social contacts and give him the opportunity to experience small group activities.
Hosting Playdates
Besides finding group situations for your child, try to arrange for playdates and special outings with one or two other preschoolers. Encourage your child to feel free to ask friends over to your home (or to ask you to call their parents to invite them over). When you’re hosting a playdate, keep in mind that three- and four-year-old playmates still need at least some adult supervision. Tempers flare much too quickly among preschoolers to leave them alone safely for more than a few minutes at a time. If you’re the responsible adult in charge, you have a duty to make sure all children in your care remain safe from themselves and from one another. Fortunately, this doesn’t mean you need to watch the children like a mother hen. Indeed, you may find that you can get more accomplished and have more time to yourself when your child has a friend over to play with than when you are her sole source of entertainment and companionship. But you do need to stay close enough to be able to step in whenever anything threatens your child’s—or your guest’s—safety.
