M.L.
I feel this situation is very similar to my family as well. I was also concerned about my older one not having friends at home as well as at school. I hope this makes u feel better about your concerns. I also tried to encourage friendships...didn't work. It was my daughter who taught me to relax about her social life. She is very responsible and goal oriented. She prefers to take care of her responsibilities of maintaining good grades (which requires mega homework to have good grades). She was born this way. Her other areas in her life r fine...is not depressed or have low self esteem. I have found that my youngest, who is in elementary school, gets invited much more often to parties because this is the age that kids always seem to have bday parties and the parents tend to allow the majority of the kids in the class to go (at least 50% of the time). In middle school, kids seem to begin to invite only a few kids for a dinner or movie ect. It also is very apparent that in middle school, fewer bday parties are taking place. My youngest is simply just more extraverted. My kids are different kids, so I try to support their different needs and activities. Best wishes with your recent move.