6 year old - grandparent relationship changed?
My son is 6 and for at least 6 or so months now he’s been really stand-offish with my parents. They’ve been in his life since birth, caring for him daily (first all day then after school once he started daycare at 2). Their lives essentially revolve around him. Other grandkids are grown and far away. He’s always been super close to them and for the longest time he wanted them around all the time.
Once he started kindergarten he just didn’t want to play with them anymore and they admittedly weren’t as good at playing once he got older. He can often be rude to them. As soon as I come down at the end of the day from my home office, he immediately tells them to go home and clings to me. While they are over he just watches tv and largely ignores them (they watch him for an hour after school so this also isn’t the best time to be socializing w a kid). I have to force him to acknowledge them when they come over and when they leave otherwise he’ll completely ignore them.
Kids tend to really change a lot in kinder and I get that but it makes me sad for my parents to see how he’s just cast them aside. And I wonder is it normal? Will the relationship improve?
I’ve tried to talk to him about it but he says he doesn’t know why he “doesn’t like them” and doesn’t want me to ask him because it makes him sad.
I don’t think anything happened that would cause this - it has happened gradually since around the time he started Kindergarten and they are generally with him when we are around as well.