Importance of Friendships
Friendships among children are more than just a source of play and entertainment; they are a vital component of a child’s overall development. These early social connections lay the groundwork for essential life skills, emotional well-being, and personal growth. From the playground to the classroom, the bonds children form with their peers shape their experiences and influence their development in profound ways. Friendships impact a child’s emotional, social, cognitive, and behavioural development. Our role as parents, educators, and caregivers is to support children’s social journeys and ability to make friends, ensuring they grow into well-rounded and resilient individuals.
4 Friendship Facts
It is important for children to know that friendships are not perfect and conflict is normal, every friendship is different because every person is different, trust and respect are important for friendships, and that friendships change and that’s ok. The four friendship facts below are discussed with students at South Padbury PS as part of our classroom social and emotional learning.
Poster from URSTRONG.COM
How The School Manages Student Friendships
Staff manage friendships between students on a daily basis and will contact parents if they require more information or have concerns. Staff use restorative conversations to deal with friendship incidences, allowing all students the opportunity to discuss their feelings and how someone’s behaviour has impacted them. The school encourages students to have different groups of friends as a protective factor, rather than one special friend, so that children can move between friends when needed. After a friendship incident, the school may suggest students play in different areas or play different games for a cooling off period of time, and staff may separate students in friendship groups if the friendship becomes detrimental. Staff will also often deliberately create alternative social situations for a student, both within the classroom and in the playground, and try to connect them with others they feel would be more positive for their wellbeing. Parents are asked not to contact staff about minor or transient friendship incidences, especially those that do not involve their own child, as these are a normal part of child development and will be dealt with during the school day if issues arise.
What Can Parents Do?
If you hear your child consistently saying that they have no friends, no one to play with, or that someone is being mean to others in the group or won’t let them play, and this persists for a number of weeks, we would suggest reading the helpful information on the links below as a starting point to exploring friendship conversations with your child and supporting your child to be a good friend. If you continue to have serious concerns about your child’s safety or wellbeing as a result of a friendship, please speak with your child’s class teacher so they can provide any necessary support.
Resources
How to help your child make friends | Raising Children Network
Helping Children Make Friends: Practical Strategies for Social Growth – The Psych Professionals
5 friendship skills every child needs (and how to support kids using positive parenting) | Triple P
Three Ways to Teach Our Children Empathy – Happy Families
insights giving kids scripts for social and school success.pdf