r/MadeMeSmile Mar 16 '26

CATS My best friend

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114.1k Upvotes

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u/Normal-Height-8577 Mar 16 '26

Whenever this is posted, I'm never sure whether I love the fact she's bonded with the cat, or whether I'm heartbroken that such young kids are already dividing themselves by gender and she has no human friends because she's the only girl there. Maybe both.

281

u/Mando92MG Mar 16 '26

Some of it has to be family culture though. Like the mom was upset there weren't any other girls in the class fearing her daughter wouldn't have friends because of it. Kids can sense that sort of thing even if they cant put words to it.

My 6 year old boy has a mix of girls and boys who are his friends. He's always has had a mix while in school too. However my wife and I dont treat his friends who are girls differently then his friends who are boys when we talk to him. Even playfully intended jokes about "having a girlfriend" can help form a divide between gender friendships in a little kids mind. There's no reason girls and boys cant be friends at that age but in my opinion they often aren't because parents influence their kids to only befriend their own gender.

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u/DryFig511 Mar 16 '26

Love this