One child excludes my son from play.

My 6 year old son gets excluded from play by a girl (same age) who is new to the area.  They all play fine until she comes out.  She'll come for him when there's no one else and play for a bit and then say she's not playing with him or will go inside and close the door on him.  As an example, they were playing at hers when she told him that he had to go home.  He's a really socialble little boy, happy to play with all children but he gets really upset when this happens.  I don't know how I should handle the situation.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Where is the adult in this situation? Now, it's no big thing if a child decisdes he or she doesn't want to play with someone, but it should be the parent who is making the judgment. There really isn't much for you to do, except be supportive and understanding with your son and let him know that it does feel badly when someone doesn't want to play. He's having an early experience with one of life's lessons - it's a less-than-perfect world.