Something I'm becoming increasingly aware of as my daughter gets older is just how early friendship drama begins.

She's seven and already filling me in on the latest quarrels among the Year 1 girls. And honestly? It can be quite juicy.

In my mind, I'd reserved this kind of friendship politics for high school. But it makes sense that it starts much earlier, at an age when children are still figuring out who they are, what they like, what matters to them and how they're expected to behave around other people.

It can be difficult as a parent to know how much to step in. While part of me would occasionally love to have a quiet word with the child involved, I know my actual job is to give my daughter the confidence and skills to navigate these relationships herself.

I've also been reflecting on the impact of her being an only child.

She doesn't have a sibling forcing her to negotiate the important things in life, like what to watch on TV or which game to play. At home, she is usually the sole recipient of my attention and, more often than not, the person setting the agenda.

This is wonderful for her, but it also means she gets fewer built-in opportunities to compromise, wait her turn and discover that other people may have ideas of their own.

Then I realised that all of her extracurricular activities are individual ones: gymnastics, swimming and dancing. They put her alongside other children, but they don't necessarily require her to work with them.

So, lately, I've been wondering whether a team sport might be the missing piece of the puzzle. It seems to tick several boxes for what she needs right now: building solid relationships, developing confidence, working towards something with other people and occasionally accepting that the whole group cannot revolve around her latest idea.

There was just one problem.

I just had visions of surrendering a quarter of my weekends to watching her sport, and I know myself well enough to admit that this was… not going to work for me.

But this week, I was humbled.

Image: Supplied.

A few school mums were discussing signing their children up for our local Woolworths Cricket Blast. Despite my initial recoil at the word cricket, they quickly reassured me that it's not what you think.

Suddenly, I was listening. Apparently, cricket for kids is not what I pictured.

What is Woolworths Cricket Blast and how does it work?

Everything about the way these sessions are structured feels intentional.

Designed for kids aged five to 10, it offers a fun introduction to cricket in a tight 60 to 90 minute session, without expecting children to arrive knowing the rules.

Rather than asking beginners to jump straight into a formal match, the kids rotate through a series of short activity stations, with each one lasting around seven or eight minutes — which, frankly, feels like the ideal amount of time to hold the attention of a group of seven year olds.

The activities focus on batting, bowling, catching and fielding. As someone who was called "rubber arm" at school due to her complete lack of hand-eye coordination, I'm quite keen for Harper to develop these skills early and potentially spare herself the character-building experience of being picked last during school sport.

After the rotations, the kids move into a modified mini-game where they put those skills into practice, keeping them moving through energetic activities and interactive games.

And while learning how to hold a bat correctly would be a win, the cricket skills aren't actually the part that interested me most.

The teamwork benefits aren't just an added bonus.

What stood out to me was that the teamwork and social benefits aren't simply mentioned in the marketing. They're built into the way the sessions actually run.

The children pair up, rotate through groups, cheer one another on and work towards shared goals. They need to take turns, listen, communicate and include others.

In other words, they practise many of the things I've been trying to explain to Harper at home, only without another unsolicited lecture in the car after school.

There's a big difference between hearing those lessons from your mum and experiencing them as part of a team. Most of her activities focus on individual progress, whereas a team sport means her contribution matters, but so does everyone else's.

She would have opportunities to encourage another child, work towards a shared outcome and build resilience when something doesn't go her way.

Cricket is really just the vehicle for play, confidence, teamwork and learning how to exist within a group without always needing to be its main character.

Is the program suitable for young girls?

I like that Woolworths Cricket Blast welcomes children who have never played cricket before.

Harper wouldn't need to know all the rules or be convinced cricket is for her. She can simply turn up, try the activities and build confidence at her own pace.

That feels especially encouraging for young girls, who can absorb the idea that certain sports aren't intended for them long before anyone says it. A safe, inclusive and team-first environment gives them the chance to experience cricket as social, energetic and enjoyable.

With Cricket Australia's Women and Girls Week almost here (from October 25 to November 1), it's a timely reminder that encouraging and celebrating our daughters through sport doesn't mean pushing them to be the best player on the field. Sometimes it means just giving them the opportunity to participate, try something unfamiliar and discover what they can do alongside other kids.

How to actually sign up.

Like many parents, I put pressure on myself to say the right thing after every friendship issue and equip my daughter with every social skill she'll ever need.

But perhaps I don't need to turn it into another parenting research project.

I don't need to read every article, enrol her in endless extracurricular activities or engineer every opportunity for her to build confidence. Sometimes, the most useful thing I can do is place her in a safe environment where she can practise those skills herself.

The fact that team sport like this can fit all into one fast-moving session each week makes it feel genuinely manageable. Local clubs offer a range of Cricket Blast days and times, so she could experience the benefits of a team sport without our entire calendar revolving around it.

I'm now genuinely keen for Harper to give it a try.

Check out Woolworths Cricket Blast and find your local program online.

Featured image: Supplied.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH WOOLWORTHS CRICKET BLAST

Cricket-inspired games that help kids learn skills for life, like confidence, teamwork and resilience. Imagine the fun. Join your local program today at Woolworths Cricket Blast.