Just Want to See What Others Think About My Daughter's Recent Behavior.

2 best friends, both female. What? Who calls two little girls, both females? Just questioning this post.

Perfectly normal behavior.
My kid was two when she came home from preschool and told me that she was going to marry a little boy in her class named Bo. I asked her how Bo felt about this and she said, "He doesn't know yet."

ETA: Ack! You don't get it! It's not even a 'crush'...sheesh! It's NOTHING. Again, you are the one assigning adult meaning to something extremely benign. Please, for heaven's sake, don't even mention the word 'crush' to your daughter. It's not appropriate to the situation. At all.

original answer:
I think assigning "best friend" status on other little girls is 'too mature' for her age, personally, and you are the one doing this.

As for wanting to marry another child of the same sex? Happens all the time with kids! I've worked with kids for years upon years and have heard this over and over. They see that mom and dad (or mom and mom or dad and dad) are two people who love each other, are hopefully each other's best friend, and they want that sort of partnership. It's cute, nothing more. Heck, my brother, at age 6, said he wanted to marry our mom and live on a farm. OBVIOUSLY that did not happen. Kids actually have a better idea about what true love is-- *friendship*-- than most adults do with their more convoluted 'romantic' love.

OMG the child is 3.
Allow her to be a normal child, PLEASE!!!!

Welcome to mamapedia!

No. Your daughter is FINE. She's expressing herself. Next she'll want to marry you or her daddy. It's NORMAL. At almost 4 years old? She should still know innocence.

What are you TRYING to do? Seriously. Come on. She's a kid. She's 3. Please don't read into this and say "Oh my God - my daughter is transsexual" She's NOT. She's a kid and she's rambling on.

STOP making a mountain out of a mole hill and let your daughter be a child. Let her be innocent and let her feel how she feels.

Why do you call her best friends "female"? What's wrong with girls?

This post screams....something's not right.

My son is 7 and wants to grow up and live in a house with his 2 best friends - one is a boy and one is a girl. He wants to live with them so they can play as much as they want and not have to leave to go home. They are kids; all of this is normal. Let it be.

I don't mean to sound off topic, but the thing that jumps out to me the most is your referencing their playing together as "hanging out"...
Like Nervy Girl, I see that as you assigning adult themes and ideas to your child. She's not even 4. She doesn't "hang out" with friends. She plays with other kids she is put around by adults. She might have some she prefers over others, but that's about it at her age. They don't really have true "friendships" like you probably mean. Most kids that age will play with whoever is around, and if there is more than one or two kids to choose from, they will self select with those/or the one most likely to play the games (pretend games many times) they want to play themselves.

I think you're giving it too much thought. It isn't maturity. It's not being able to explain in adult words that YOU are overthinking something that is just play.

She's 3.5. That should be all the answer you need. No, none of her answers are "too mature." You're viewing this from the lens of an adult without the imagination of a preschooler. Don't you remember playing "house" and "princess" and "horses" and "kittens" and every other game with your peers? She's pretending...and she's likely behaving awkwardly because you're acting weird about something that is completely normal.

It's just fine. Please don't squash her imagination. There's nothing "too mature" about it. If she was saying she wants to marry a little boy, you wouldn't be saying this. And if you were, you shouldn't be.

I think 3 year olds don't have best friends. I think parallel play is very common so hanging out but not really playing is normal. Imagination is normal. Kids wanting to marry each other is normal. If you don't want her talking about marriage, then don't talk about it in front of her (don't discuss who she might marry as an adult, for example - she's THREE!). Don't question her any more about any of it - you're looking for meaning where there isn't any. Best to let kids talk without pressing them.

Of course it's "nothing" kids pretend to be all kinds of things at that age, from kings and queens to puppies and flowers and dinosaurs.
I think you lack a basic understanding of early childhood development. Parenting classes might be a good idea, early childhood education classes at your local community college, or at the minimum, go to the library and check out some books.

You sound like my sister with the "mature" comments for preschoolers. No, she doesn't sound mature because of that. She sounds like she is using her imagination to play. You shouldn't question her further on her play stories, just let her be a kid. All too quickly this age will pass.

This is so normal for an older child. I have 4 grandchildren that includes a 3 yo girl. So I've seen 4 three olds grow. None of them at 3 had best friends or talked about marriage. They do a lot of imaginary play. I could see them acting out being King and Queen if they've been exposed to that concept.

I do wonder at your question. My 5yo granddaughter doesn't have best friends. Watching her, I can see that some kids are special to her. I did not see her have special friends until she was around .

Where did your daughter learn to gave a best friend? I don't remember my daughter have best friends until the 4th grade or so.

Do you have a best friend. At what age did you start having a best friend instead of calling several classmates friends.

Could she be imitating you? Perhaps that is why she sounds so adult. Kids imitate as a way of learning.

You mention the word "awkward" a couple of times, yet I see nothing awkward other than you questioning her about it.

Playing imaginary games is typical - and for children to act out roles. Think about the books and movies they are exposed to - like Frozen or Disney princess stories.

I'm not really getting what your concern is.

Is it because she's not one of your daughter's 'best' friends? Mine were friends with all their classmates at that age.

I agree with RK, this question seems a bit off. Maybe you could explain further what your concern is.

ETA: Try again ...
I used to talk about a little girl in my preschool because she had Cindy Brady hair (ringlet pigtails). In my mind, she was glamorous. So I'm not sure that's a crush so much as maybe your daughter just likes her hair and it's all just imagination. Know what I mean?

Nope, they are age-appropriately immature. She probably gets awkward because her mommy is getting so intense about it. You might come across as about to get angry at her and she wouldn't understand why.

'Best friends' tend to have a short shelf life for little kids. Despite wanting to marry her classmate today, in two years she might not remember her name if the girl doesn't also attend the same elementary school. This is also developmentally normal. I bring this up because moms sometimes try overly hard to keep a naturally dying friendship going, especially when you're friends with the other kid's mother.

Remember that you don't have to be friends with all of her friend's moms, and she doesn't have to be friends with your friend's kids. If it meshes up naturally, great. When it doesn't, don't push it.

My son had a close buddy from 4K preschool until 2nd grade. At that point, their emerging interests and personalities became less compatible and they wanted to spend their time with other friends. The mom and I are still friends, but our sons (grade 11 in the fall) have totally separate social groups.

Seems normal to me. My son at age 3 wanted to know if he could marry his best friend. Another little boy. He just loved his friend. I would say sure you can! And he'd be happy. He also used to love to put on princess dresses! He is 12 now and definitely likes girls. But if he was gay and liked boys I would be fine with that too. Anyway...this is normal preschool behavior. Just go with it. Your questioning her may make her feel like you disapprove? What tone of voice are you using?

I think there are some good child development books out there for the preschool years.
3 1/2 yr olds don't really know the meaning of awkward - they don't have a sense of shame yet.

https://www.amazon.com/Preschool-Years-Ellen-Galinsky/dp/...

Where do you get this being a "crush"? She's acting her age and expressing her feelings. Please do not make more out of this than there really is going on.

She's getting awkward because she's reacting to you and your pushing the subject. Let it be.

totally normal, a best friend of either gender is pretty cool at any age, even that young

She has a preschool crush, no big deal. It is perfectly normal.