A mum has been left heartbroken after discovering her son was the only child excluded from a classmate's birthday party. She explained how her eight-year-old considered himself to be best friends with the birthday boy - but is about to learn the truth about their 'friendship'.
Taking to Reddit, she said: "A mum I am Facebook friends with posted a picture of her son's birthday party. All of the boys from my son's class were there - all the ones he says are his friends. My son wasn't invited."
Confused as to why he was excluded, the mum says her son does not have behavioural issues and has been on several playdates with the other boys throughout the school year. "They play together at recess and sit together at lunch, she added. "All of his other 'best friends' were there.
"But not my eight-year-old who helped me weed the garden today."
Worried about her son's wellbeing, the woman says she is dreading Monday when he overhears all the other boys talking about the party.
She said: "My heart is breaking for what will come on Monday - the last week of school.
"I so wish school was over and he would never know.
"I am going to cry about my poor little boy who was so looking forward to having a friend this year finding out on Monday morning that all his 'friends' got together without him."
Not wanting to let on how upset she is, the mum says she is going to try to drop her child off with a smile on her face - for his sake and her own.
"I will see all of the other mums at the second grade play day on Tuesday and I will pretend that it is all fine as we volunteer together," she added.
"When the birthday boy tells me about his party, I will say 'that sounds like so much fun! I'm glad it was a good day!
"And on Monday, I will not cry and will tell my son that sometimes not everyone gets invited, sometimes only a certain number of people get invited because that is how big the house is.
"[I will tell him] that it is OK to be sad about it, that next year there will be new opportunities to meet other friends.
"Except the school is small and he doesn't play sports and there won't be other opportunities next year. But he doesn't need to know that yet. At least he can have the hope this summer."
While most users shared a thought for the poor boy, others praised the mum for how she is handling the situation.
One user said: "I want a child and this is one of my biggest fears because I was that kid growing up.
"My heart goes out to you and your son - hold him tight and let him know you love him that's what I wish my parents would have done when it happened to me."
Another user added: "Take him out of school on Monday to get lunch and do a fun activity."
A third user said: "To be honest I’d ask. It would be helpful to know in case it’s something that you can mitigate in the future."
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