The Importance Of Early Childhood Friendships

Research has shown that healthy friendships in which close ties emerge are developed when parents provide a warm and supportive home environment (Feldman, 2014). Children emulate positive social interactions and roles, which they learn from the adults in their lives who they model after. Children living in healthy family systems develop a strong and positive relationship with their parents or caregiver and will encourage positive relationships with others.

Children need support and guidance to establish friendships with their peers by; modelling positive interactions with your colleagues and other children, using positive language, through play you show them how to develop communication and negotiation skills, turn taking and help children to

In the early 1970’s little was known regarding children’s friendships. Bigalow and La Gaipa (1975) assessed developmental differences by having grade school children write 480 essays on what they expected of their best friend that was not expected from other

Friendship means different things to different people in different cultures. Friendship is also different from other kinds of relationship such as love, family and professional. The influential power on people’s behaviour, style, ideas and life is dominant and remarkable and therefore worthwhile for scientific investigation. This essay will compare and contrast the academic research of three dominant and pioneer scientists on the development psychology discipline and especially in the field of children’s expectations and children’s understanding of

Friendship means different things to different people in different cultures. Friendship is also different from other kinds of relationship such as love, family and professional. The influential power on people’s behaviour, style, ideas and life is dominant and remarkable and therefore worthwhile for scientific investigation. This essay will compare and contrast the academic research of three dominant and pioneer scientists on the development psychology discipline and especially in the field of children’s expectations and children’s understanding of friendship. It will

Early friendship helps children learn how to negotiate and relate to others. Peer groups teaches us how to cooperate and socialise according to group norms. Peer groups can easily influence what someone values, knows, wears, eats and learns. Peer groups are important to socialisation for it teaches them what is right, wrong and

When I was six years old, it was challenging for me to make friends. I had recently been diagnosed with a learning disability and had started leaving the classroom for special education classes. At this age, my peers did not understand why I had to leave the room when it was time for reading class and unfortunately assumed that something must be wrong. I stopped receiving invitations to friends’ houses and my self-confidence plummeted. Along with starting a new medication to mediate behavior, I lost my weekends to private reading tutors which further alienated me from being able to form relationships with children my age.

Alex needs to be involved with his friends for his emotional well-being. Alex is facing struggles with peers inside his school and with Mr. William’s. According to the text, “social relationships are necessary for the child to gain experience in learning about others’ points of view (Piaget, 1932/1965). They contribute to the child’s sense of security and connectedness (Berndt, 1982), and foster the development of the self-concept (Mead, 1934). These three benefits are not as separate as they may seem but are, instead, three highly interconnected outcomes of positive social contact. (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015, pg

Initial analyses showed that children with reciprocated friends had higher social competence scores than children without reciprocated friends. Correlation's suggested that the number of changed friendships was associated with the social ability indicators studied here. Beyond the cost of having no reciprocated friends, having non-reciprocated friendships was not a liability. Cross-time analysis suggested differing patterns of relations for boys and girls. Having, versus not having a reciprocated friend was unstable across time, because there was a trend toward participating in reciprocated friendships from 3 to 4 years of age (most older children had at least one reciprocated friend).

Peer relationships are some of the most important interactions we have in our childhood. According to lecture (5/7/2015), these relationships help to build our social skills as well our social competence, creating a social acceptance amongst our peers. Our textbook (pg. 321) explains that peer relationships promote both physical and cognitive development. Once the child enters the preschool age they begin to differentiate friends from peers. A peer is simply an acquaintance, the child plays with them due to accessibility and similar background or social standing; however, a friend is someone with shared interests and associated with positive experiences. During this study into peer relationships in early and middle childhood, I interviewed two young girls. Kayla is 11 years old and Adison is 4 years old. While some of their views on friendship and peer interactions are similar, most of their views are worlds apart.

Children need to feel respected and accepted just like adults. If they do not feel a sense of belonging then they are less likely to learn, thrive and be happy in the process. The most important initial relationships in early childhood are those that children form with their families. They are their first teachers and children develop an understanding of the world they live in based on how they live at home. (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009, p. 12) It has been shown that children are more likely to succeed if their educators and families have a strong relationship built on mutual respect and trust. It is therefore extremely important for educators to show an understanding and respect for each child’s culture they practice at home. It is also

Whether past or present, our friends have shaped us to who we are today. We are even the product of the friends who are no longer our friends. Also, our friends can give us vital life skills. There are many perks of having friends for example, they sharpen our mind, friends make us generally happier, they help us knowing ourselves better, they support us in advancing our career, friends help us meet romantic partners and they make us living a longer and healthier life. Another important aspect is that childhood friendships start our learning process. Early friendships play a vital role because they occur while key developmental changes are taking place. They help teach us some of those important life skills but also shape our life “narrative.” Teen friendships help us shape later romantic bonds. Though parents spend much of their time worrying about who their teenage kids are with, these relationships are a training ground for the later long-term bonds that will evolve through adulthood. It is important to know that people are less lonely when they have friends. Loneliness is painful, especially when

Young children are emotionally attached and dependent on the adults that care for them. Children begin to learn social roles and behaviour within their family context. This is called first or primary socialisation. A family environment might provide a safe base from which to explore social relationships with other children through play. Children will learn to co-operate with other children (co-operative play). As children grow older they will become increasingly independent and begin to form friendships based on a sense of mutual trust. Friendships become increasingly important as children grow towards adolescence. Children may begin to form social networks or ‘circles’ of friends who like and agree with each other.

In the film, “The Emotional Life” there was a very interesting episode called “Family, Friends and Lovers”. “Family, Friends and Lovers” reminded me of situations that I have experienced in the past. I can honestly relate to this episode in so many ways, such as my outlook on family and friends. The first few people that babies ever know are their family. Infants value their mother/caregiver more than anyone. From birth they tend to form a bond with their caregiver, in which is known as attachment. Due to their family members being the first people they interact with they learn how to relate with people at home. Family relationship is practice to what is next; meaning the relationships people gain with their family helps them prepare for future relationship with others. Friendships can be very helpful because no one wants to be lonely. It is quite nice to have someone else to hang and interact with besides family. It is great to have a friend that you can connect with.

Social interaction is a complex area of study because of how multifaceted it is. Social stability starts at an early age when the child or adolescent learns how to develop trust, take initiative, and achieve a sense of identity. Erick Erickson is a great example of showing the importance of completing the psychosocial stages of development (Erikson 1994). One can glean how crucial these psychosocial stages are and the support needed around the developing child to meet these checkpoints in their life. Children are incredibly malleable; however, instilling a negative light toward social interaction can affect how they manage their later years. Being aware of the crucial beginning steps of social interaction can set the stage on how one will be throughout their adulthood.