hard time for toddler friends

[sunbob]

My 2.5 yr old girl and her friends are going through a hard stage at the moment. Whenever she meets with a friend (usually one at a time 1/2 times a week) they very quickly get cross with eachother. It's so sad to see as she gets lonely on days when we don't meet anyone and is so excited to see her friends and thinks about them a lot between meetings (including them in songs, conversations and games).

Any ideas or just empathy welcome. It also makes me feel a bit down, as the meeting with the other mum is also stressful and often cut short.

[Belle]

having exactly the same with my son, and have been for some time - so just to say know how it feels really! No real brainwaves as to how to deal with it though - have found informal plans work best e.g. casual arrangements to meet in park/playground, as then if he's really kicking off or the kids generally aren't getting on, a quick getaway isn't too big a deal. Plus avoids the toys issue. (not sure if this is an issue for you - is a massive one for us - absolutely sick to death of saying 'share!'). Change of scene helps - we sometimes get the bus over to Ruskin Park to go to the playground there, both with and without friendss. My son also talks about his friends all the time and is really disappointed if we go out and don't meet one of them. I have found having a massive pep talk beforehand (along the lines of, we're going to play with X so will you be kind, and play nicely etc etc), and heaping loads of praise for good behaviour after the fact, help a bit. It can feel quite isolating but then someone like you posts this and it reminds me a lot of kids go through it - which is what nursery tell me too. They are still v young and not able to fully handle their emotions or communicate about them.

[snowboarder]

Ditto above (small snowboarder and belle being best buddies/sworn enemies within same 10 mins!) - so only empathy really. Neutral territory (park/soft play etc) definitely best, also meets with older or younger children seem to work too as they can boss/be bossed more successfully!! I'm hoping it changes FAST with winter approaching though..

[crystal7]

It's hard isn't it? As others have said varying the settings to prevent boredom can help (ha easier said than done in bad weather!) plus having friends of different ages. I sometimes think I'm a bit too keen to chat to the other mum and perhaps need to watch what's going on more carefully...