All My Children

Jade only plays with one particular child at the pre-school. If that child is absent, Jade just sits by herself. She is co-operative with adults and joins in with tasks but will not play with any other child during the free play session. When her particular friend is at the pre-school, Jade dislikes being joined in a game by anyone else.

Possible reasons for this behaviour

Jade:

• is very insecure

• has been spurned by another child/other children and lacks confidence now in playing with others
• is trying to maintain some control over matters in the pre-school

• Is not used to being with large groups of people
• Is an only child

• comes from a very self-contained family and is content with having just one friend

Strategies

• Include Jade in small-group activities (just one other child at first) as a regular feature of the day and gradually increase the size of the groups
• Investigate Jade’s interests and use these to include her in group work with other children
• Pair Jade with different children during the session so that she is exposed to a variety of characters. If Jade is happy to associate with just one child and all avenues have been explored, then it may be that this is part of her personality at the present time
• Investigate whether any of the other children live near to Jade’s house to extend relationships outside the pre-school

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