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Acceptance vs. Friendship: When Should Children Be Expected to Play Together?

Acceptance vs. Friendship: When Should Children Be Expected to Play Together?

Motherhood Life Balance

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In the world today, teachers, parents, and even older siblings are teaching children to be kind. Everyone in the world is different and that is what makes it such a great place to live.

But, what if your child just doesn’t want to play or hang out with a child who is different? Recently a dad told his son he doesn’t need to be friends with special needs child but should be nice to him. But did he do the right thing?

The Playground

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The original poster (OP) started off by saying he has two sons, ages 12 and 6, and that every Saturday he and his 6-year-old go on what his son calls “dude walks” where they look for spiders, dig in the mud, and stop at the neighborhood park to play. OP says the park is a standing meetup for a bunch of parents in the area to bring their kids to play and hang out with each other.

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A few weeks ago, a new family moved into the neighborhood and upon meeting them, OP said the mother mentioned that she had two boys, ages 13 and 7. OP then told her about the Saturday morning park group in case she wanted to meet some neighbors.

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OP went on to say that it was clear her 7-year-old has special needs and is a very enthusiastic player, making loud noises, banging on things, and getting in the other kids’ faces, but his mother was great about correcting him and explained that he wasn’t trying to be aggressive, just excited.

The Aftermath

7YO’s mother got wind of the schedule change and wrote OP and family a long letter explaining that she felt OP had not done enough to discourage OP’s son from ostracizing 7YO and that OP’s “pull” in the neighborhood was influencing others to avoid her son now too.

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OP feels that his son has tried his best with 7YO and has verbalized his need for boundaries from 7YO to OP and his wife several times and feels that as long as both of his kids treat them with respect, he’s satisfied.

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OP finishes by saying that he can’t control what the other parents choose to do, and his family will continue to be friendly and be good neighbors but will not force their sons to play with 13 and 7YO.

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What Would You Do?  Click Below to Read More and See what Others Thought

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