My preschooler’s first crush

[Anonymous]

This is new territory for me even though I have an older child as well. Posting here bc I think there might be more collective experience with this than in the infant/toddler forum.

My 4yo asked me to invite this one girl to his bday party. She’s not in any of his classes, but he has seen her in passing here and there. I asked if he ever talked to her, and he’s said he hasn’t bc he’s too afraid to. He said he just likes her and not for any particular reason, he just does. He gets this smile on his face when he talks about her. It is so sweet and innocent.

My question is how do I handle it? Do I actually invite her to his birthday party (which isn’t for another 5 months). Do I try to schedule a play date? Do I just ignore it and let it fizzle out? Do I mention anything to the girl’s parents? Should we try not to make it a big deal and keep his feelings private or is it ok to talk about? Again, all new territory for me, so I appreciate sharing your own experience and wisdom!

[Anonymous]

Birthday party is five months from now and in the life of a preschooler many things could change. I will just try for now to set a playdate without putting too much emphasis on it.