Do/would you ask your child to invite a class mate they didn't like?

My sister (Rae, 13) celebrated her birthday recently. In her class, there is a pretty shy girl who feels excluded regularly…let’s call her Meg. Rae treats her nicely. For her party, though, she invited a bunch of very active and outgoing girls. She did not invite Meg – who, incidentally, adores her.

I spent some time wondering whether I should talk to Rae about this. Before I could make a decision, she approached me, asking for advice on how to handle Meg. After talking it through, my sister decided to invite Meg to a little separate party she was planning with a couple of kindergarten friends. She made this decision on her own, saying that she didn’t want to give Meg a reason to feel excluded.Everyone was happy, and I’m pretty proud of Rae for being so considerate.

I’m wondering whether, if your kid didn’t happen to ask, you’d give your opinion anyway. I think forcing friends on children is borderline cruel. On the other hand…well, I just felt sorry for the girl. What do you say?