Helping Your Child Make and Keep Friends
Friendships are one of childhood’s greatest joys — and challenges. Between ages three and six, children begin learning how to play cooperatively, share space, and care about others’ feelings. These early experiences teach empathy, patience, and kindness — the roots of lifelong social skills. With gentle guidance, you can help your child build the confidence to connect with others, handle small conflicts, and become a friend others feel safe and happy to be around.
🌱 1. Model Friendly Behavior
Children learn how to be friends by watching you. Show kindness in your words, tone, and small daily interactions — from greeting neighbors to saying thank you.
“I like how we helped each other just now. That’s teamwork!”
Modeling respect and empathy teaches children how connection feels in real life.
💬 2. Practice Sharing and Turn-Taking
Sharing doesn’t come naturally — it’s a skill that grows through repetition and gentle reminders. Practice during playtime with cooperative activities.
“How can we both use the crayons at the same time?”
Turn-taking helps children learn fairness, patience, and trust.
🧠 3. Talk About Feelings in Play
Use small playtime moments to help your child notice how actions affect others. This builds empathy and awareness of others’ emotions.
- “How do you think your friend felt when that happened?”
- “What can we do to help them feel better?”
Naming emotions strengthens understanding and encourages compassion.
💛 4. Guide Through Friendship Conflicts
Disagreements are part of learning. Stay calm and guide your child through problem-solving with simple, fair language.
“Let’s use kind words to tell your friend what you need.”
Helping children navigate conflict teaches them emotional balance and cooperation.
🌼 5. Encourage Kind Gestures
Small acts of kindness — offering a snack, helping clean up, or giving a compliment — make friendship feel rewarding and natural.
“You said something kind — that made your friend feel happy.”
Reinforcing kind actions helps compassion become part of your child’s everyday behavior.
🌱 Parent Tip
Friendships grow best in gentle soil — patience, empathy, and encouragement. When you celebrate cooperation more than competition, your child learns that being a good friend isn’t about being perfect — it’s about being kind, fair, and willing to listen.