I know this is a fairly common occurrence for kids but to be honest it is freaking me out. I thought I had longer with her attached to us as her parents, before she started finding strong relationships outside the family.
Don't get me wrong, it is actually lovely. Her boyfriend, lets call him J, is a gorgeous little boy. His mum is a friend of mine and I love her to bits too.
I just find it really weird seeing them not only holding hands, but hugging and not leaving each others' side whenever they are together. J also is part of our church family so even on Sundays during our kids program they are glued together (which I think drives the leaders a bit crazy).
They go to the same preschool on the same days (but not in the same class), and Emily has told me that she will only play with J during outside time. Even though I have tried to encourage her to play with some other children, she insists that J is the only friend she will play with.
Earlier last term, J was sick for a few days. I had the opportunity to observe her in the playground and noticed that instead of playing with other children, she was following the teacher around.
It is lovely that she has such a wonderful friend in J, and I know they are not very likely to be still in love in 15 years time. I guess I just worry that she will miss out on making friendships with other little girls and boys.
I spoke to a friend about this recently, she said her little preschool aged girl was the opposite. Her daughter floats around playing with everyone and doesn't have a regular friend. It made me realise that all kids are different, and at preschool they are just finding their feet with the whole friendship thing.
So instead of worrying (although I may still worry a bit), I am just going to enjoy watching my little girl and her "friend" enjoy each others' company.
Have any of your kids had boyfriends at an early age? How did you cope with it?
