Helping a Child "Share" Friends

Just role play... it's easy.
Tell him what you are going to do and why. You tell him that you will be him and he will be Danny...
Then just do what he does. Then ask him how it feels to be Danny.

3 is a bad number no matter the age. I'd not schedule play time for the 3 together - only 2 or 4 for a while... So - you'll either have to find another friend or just have 2 kids at a time.

That said -- there is no better teacher than the peer group for this sort of thing. They learn it faster and better from their friends -- "if I'm mean, my friend won't want to play with me. If I want to spend time with him, I'd better suck it up and be nice."

LBC

I agree with Ladybug.

Set up a little roleplay...and then just talk to him.

You don't have to helicopter the actual play situation, but before and after, you can give some little lessons by sitting and talking with Jonah alone. You can prepare him before he "goes in" and debrief him when he leaves. Be sure to talk about the things he did RIGHT as well as reminding him of what not to do and why (the why is most important).

With your help, and some natural consequences (if Matthew or Danny gives him the silent treatment or gets mad at Jonah for his attitude, you can use that in discussion), he'll get the idea. He's a smart boy, but still little. You have to guide him and teach him those critical thinking skills.

Best of luck!

what a lovely mom you are!
yes, do some role-play with him. using simple terms (not long complicated explanations) let him know that our friends don't like us when we're selfish with them, and won't want to play with us any more.
then let natural consequences back you up.
i am so pleased that you're not a helicopter mom. but it doesn't hurt to intervene gently if you see emotions really escalating, if your son is yelling at the other boys for example. at that point you might want to remove him from the play, not as punishment but in order to give him time to calm down and remember what you've been working on. give him encouragement when he's doing well.
he's going to be just great.
:) khairete
S.

First of all being gifted, smart, or advanced has nothing to do with social skills. I'd like to dispel that myth. Sometimes gifted children may appear to be shy or antisocial to adults, because they are misunderstood. Sometimes they don't because other kids can't accept them, they may not be able to identify with that age group, (Some can identify easier with older children, than peers their own age.) they don't have anything to say, or they just don't feel like it. Your son's reaction is interesting and very typical of an average 6 year old. You're saying he yells at the other boys when they play together. Are they including him? 3 can play together as good as 2. You might want to ask him why he does what he does rather than tell him "why you don't do things like that." There might be a hidden reason you can't see on the surface. You also might want to invite other boys over for him to play with without his best friend around. This way you can see how he really does interact with other kids. Start off with just one boy at a time though.