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Not sure if this is the board but here goes.
I have been friends with best friend for nearly 4 years we're both on income support (im still on it) she went for a job interview first one and got the job she went for shelf filling but they offered her a better job. since she has started she has had to work during the day and asked me to have her kids after school i've done this for 2 wks then the kids broke up from school and she wanted me to have 1 alday i did it but felt like i was being taking advantage as she knows i would never say no. since she has got her job she has changed like she doesnt have time for me anymore if i text her i get no reply or maybe the odd one i know life changes when you start work and make new friends but i didnt think that means forgetting your old ones im not jealous that she has new friends and iam happy for her to get a job as she didnt want to go onto JSA.
i guess i have relied on her alot in the past as i dont have many friends and suffer low self esstem and low self worth, how do people get out and make new friends when you feel like that and shy and dont know what to say to people.
Hi nicola11
How hurtful when you have been so close for four years. Maybe you feel as if she has "left you behind" as she goes into her new life. Would you feel able to tell her how you feel? Maybe in a letter if it is hard to say...and I agree with hazeleyes that you should be paid for the childcare! although that is difficult because she could say well if you are my friend then why ask for money...the point is that she should offer it!
Example of a letter: Dear X, We have been friends for a few years now and I have really valued that. I am so pleased that you have got this job and are making a go of things. I feel sad, however, that we do not spend much time together now and I would love it if we could still do this. I have been happy to help you out with childcare but if you would like this to be ongoing, I wonder if there is some way you can help me too as at the moment I feel as if you want me to look after the children and yet don't want to invest in our relationship any more. Please can we have a chat about this? I really miss you!
I can also give you a plan of campaign for making new friends and extending your social circle: have a look at this article.
Lots of online friendship here too 
Something that has surprised me over the years is how the things we have in common are almost what makes the friendship. Change something about it (in my case it was changing jobs) and you realise that you lose what you had in common.
This is so sad and hard for you. Could it be she's tired after working too? I can be so anti-social without meaning to as I get caught up with things at home. Do try the letter though, it could be just what she needs to realise.
She doesnt pay me , and she knows i wouldnt ask. I wouldnt want to make friends with the mums at kids school as i've had trouble in the past and my so called friend before stabbed me in the back so as of that i would rather make friends elsewhere just not sure where lol. we made friends as we lived in the same road and even after she moved 15mins drive away we were still friends yet her having a job seems to have changed her so much, its as if she was never on benefits and is now better than the people who are on benefits. she tells me she is tired after working and forgets things but has time for her new friends i guess i either put up with it or not. thank you for all the advice xx
nicola11 are there any lone parent groups in your area? you can google it and see, it can be a really good way to meet and make new friends, or how about volunteering somewhere, there are lots of oppotunities via the jobcentre and it does not affect your benefits as long as you tell them what you are doing xxx
Hi again nicola11
Do have a look at the article I posted the link for, as there are lots and lots of ideas of different things you can do
Hi thank you for all the comments, i did look at the article, i dont want to make friends at my children's school as i had some trouble with another mum which she ended up hitting in the face outside the school gates so i just like to keep clear of the mums up there. my children do go to browines but again all the mums are from the school. when she is tired iam the one who gets the blame if someone texts her while she sleeping , how do people know when one is sleeping she works nights. since the easter hols she has been having bbq's at her place inviting me, another girl who i know and get on with plus her new friends when they are around she feels the need to put me down or make jokes at my exspence i dont find this funny and then when i dont talk she thinks i have the hump i dont i just think i cant talk to her about what is worrying me iam so worried about going for interviews i do want a job it just the process of going to get it is making me so nervous and feel sick with worry all the time. she is going to sell her car soon and wants my help meaning me to let her use my car till she has her new one, i try not to ask anything of her now as i dont want to take advantage and then if i do ask i feel i will owe her .
Hey Nicola,
I struggle with friends who work - I was very active in making aquaintances and hopefully friends when I had my first child, but 6 months later and a lot of them have to return to work. And I do find they have less time for me than I'd like, but I've come to understand that really. I have concentrated on one main mum as a friend and do have a good relationship with her - as spreading the net too wide and you end up with a lot of aquaintances and no real friends, and then try and keep socialising with others too.
It is hard, and it sounds more and more like your best friend is no longer a good friend. If you aren't having positive times in her company, and this is definitely more often than not - I often say the wrong thing now and again and wish I hadn't - but on the whole I think most of the time I'm positive to be around? Must be - otherwise the friend would have the good sense to stop seeing me and spending any time with me.
So it is hard because you have lost a good friend and she appears to want all the extras that come with being a friend. If you feel she is taking advantage of you, then try and tell her so. Explain how you find the things she says about you hurtful etc.
Who do you want to be? The Ex friend who refuses to help an ex friend out and is a bit of a bitch or The dis-respected friend who is used and taken advantage of?
It's your choice. not an easy one, but I've never found the path of the victim one I could carry as well as the bitch. It's a shame we can't be somewhere in the middle!!!
It hurts that only a month ago she was on social and she now she feel and think she better than the rest of us, i dont want to be on social i want a job but dont have much confident she knows that but doesnt understand , i did ask her if she had the hump she said no. i think she takes advantage as she thought my ex did that so if i let him treat me like that then she will too, as if im playing the victim im not im just not that strong as other people. i always thought when ur in need you find out who ur real friends are. iam going to try to not let her take advantage try being the hard word lol. if i told her that what she is saying is hurtful she will say i need to lighten up and i shouldnt still be feeling down about my ex who i split from 4 months ago. she was a good friend till she got a job , thank you for ur support x
nicola11 I know you are hurting, it isnt nice when people move on and you feel left behind. You say you dont have much confidence, do you know that the jobcentre can offer confidence building courses? Maybe if you gave that a go it might give you a little boost, just a thought xxx
Hi, iam doing a course from the job centre called launch pad there is some friendly girls on the course and i talk to them but they live far away from me and have their own lives i always seem to be the odd one out lol
It's good the girls are friendly. Do you feel this helps with your confidence?
I can appreciate how hard it is when you feel you've lost such a good friend.
What I have found (and sorry if I'm repeating myself), is that when you do have a change of job or change of circumstances you can't help but get involved with those around you.
I found out very quickly that those who I thought the world of at work soon became 'just' colleagues when I changed jobs. Its as if what you have in common changes. It is very hard.
Hi nicola11
When my daughter was younger, I had a friend who worked nights, I used to babysit her older daughter from about 6pm Sat until 10/11/12pm Sunday. She used to give me a fiver. We were both so happy that she had found a job, at first it didn't bother me, however I soon realised that she was getting £40 and I was feeding 2 meals a weekend to her child and doing very little else.
There was a point when I was just happy to see her on the Sunday, for a bit of company, however, after she started earning more and more, she wanted me to babysit for free so she could go out and party, and no, she never babysat for me.
I think it is important to firstly recognise your value. You are a good friend and you have been there for her. However it is time to start saying No to her.
I started to do this. If your friend is going to get rid of her car and need a lift from you, get prepared and say Sorry, I am doing this, that or the other. It is not always easy at first, but it does put you in control of the situation.
Our relationship shifted a lot, but we remained friends for quite a few years after the babysitting episodes. However one day, I realised I didn't need/want her friendship anymore, she was selfish and a user and now the ball was on the other foot! Happily we went our separate ways. 
New people and friends will come around Nicola11, as will jobs, be kind to yourself and you will see that in a years time, life will look very different. I think you should invite some of these new friends round to yours? Or arrange a meet up?
Hi nicola 11. Welcome along to One Space. I guess when you were both single parents on benefits you had that in common. Now she has found a job, and unfortunately you haven't, it seems she has found a new life so to speak. You say you feel as though she is taking advantage of you by asking to have the children, even though you don't mind. Does she pay you at all? You're allowed to earn £20 on benefit. Are your children at school? You could ask some of your children's friends round, which in turn helps you to get to the know the other parents. How about Netmums in your area? You'll find some singe parents on there too. It is hard, especially when you feel shy and aren't confident, but once you take the first step, it will get easier.