The Importance of Friendships Parenting

Navigating the ever-evolving world of friendship can be tricky for kids. Guiding them through these social situations is essential.

Read books together about friendships and highlight the characteristics of good friends; this will enable your children to navigate their own relationships in the future.

Be present but not overbearing

Parents play an essential role in their children’s lives, which is to make decisions that serve in their best interest. That means saying yes or no when necessary, providing guidance and teaching life skills and values.

As part of your parenting duties, this may also involve being available to talk with your children about friendship issues and help resolve any disputes they encounter in their friendship circles. But becoming too involved can actually do more damage than good!

If your children are having issues with one or more of their friends, it can be helpful to speak to teachers, guidance counselors and school officials about any programs available at school to address cliques or help children of differing abilities connect. It may also be wise to set some boundaries around playdates so children learn that they cannot simultaneously act as both friend and parent.

Encourage your child to make friends

Parents want their children to live healthy lives, which includes making friends they can rely on for support. But like any skill, developing friendship skills takes practice.

Encourage your child to try new activities that could introduce them to other kids their own age, such as participating in school sports or activities that help bring people with similar interests together. A school sport or activity may provide them with an excellent way to meet like-minded peers.

Assist your children with practicing social skills like turn taking and apologizing. A great place to teach these abilities is at home during family mealtimes.

If your child forms an important friendship, make sure they maintain it by encouraging playdates between both schools, even if their interests change over time. Explain it is normal for their interest to change and encourage them to seek new friendships.

Let your child be who they are

Parents often become overly invested in their children’s friendships. They arrange play dates, enroll them in activities with similar kids and push for text exchange. This form of parenting, known as best-friend parenting, can be very harmful.

Parent’s role should not be the primary relationship for their children; the roles are quite distinct and may even conflict. Parents must remain friendly and supportive while still saying no when necessary and acting as role models and disciplining their offspring appropriately.

Overinvolvement with your child’s friendships can lead to overindulgence, as well as teaching them bad lessons about how they should treat others. Children need the freedom to form their own friendships and learn how to recognize people who are good fits versus those that may not be so beneficial throughout their lives. Supportive friendships may help children through difficult periods such as bullying, divorce or feelings of insecurity in life.

Encourage your child to talk to you

Parents know it is crucial for kids to feel that they can confide in them about any friendship issues, and you may need to encourage this by sharing stories from your own childhood or reading books about friendship issues. Give your kids opportunities throughout the day for dialogue – even just short conversations such as what happened at playgroup or while engaging in fun activities such as colouring or puzzle solving will allow them to feel safe talking about their worries with you.

Close friendships can boost children’s confidence and self-esteem. Parents can support their child’s social development by getting to know his or her friends, organizing playdates and teaching social cues; however it is wise for parents to understand where their influence ends and try not to interfere too heavily in his or her child’s friendship choices.