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August 2021 Babies 🇬🇧

Advice on friendship

My son had a friend since 5 months old and I became friends with the mum. About a year and a half ago the mum left her partner and made.their own life in the next town and decreased contact with us. When she found out what school my son was going to she started labelling him as special needs to her family and the hairdresser I used asked me whether my childs friends mum had ended the friendship. I caught my childs friends mum discussing me with a church person slagging me off at a lego club when my child did well. I maintained the friendship but decreased time with the family till school thinking the mum was going through a bad patch. Since then my child has been invited for play dates at the friends house every 3 months or so and my son picked up some very bad habits from the visits with my son's friend being very overpowering. During these visits toys which were left out were taken away from my son and he was treated as being substantially younger when he is meeting age milestones and tracking middle of his class. It was done visibly ans he was told he would break them and he was treated as if he was 2 rather than 4 with phrases yoi would use with a 2 year old. I have distanced myself again but unsure whether I should carry on the friendship at all. My son feels hurt though and says he is still best friends with his friend he no longer sees and says even if he does not see his friend he still is best friends. What is best to tell him? The mum has clearly made up her mind after years of friendship and not been honest and my son thinks of them as family.