Forming friends in childhood represents a fundamental step in the child's psychological and social development, as it is linked to increased self-confidence and enhanced social skills. Early social interaction also helps activate neural circuits associated with oxytocin and dopamine,
which enhances feelings of happiness and belonging. A child who finds support from family and school becomes more prepared to interact with others. Studies indicate that children with healthy friendships have lower rates of anxiety and depression. Therefore, the support of parents and teachers is important for building positive social networks.
The Psychological Foundations for Helping a Child Make Friends
The child goes through different developmental stages in forming friendships:
- · Friendships at ages 3-5 years are based on play and physical proximity.
- · Secure attachment with parents enhances the ability to build healthy relationships.
- · At ages 6-8 years, understanding of fairness and reciprocity begins.
- · Theory of mind helps the child perceive the feelings and thoughts of others.
- · The quality of friendships is affected by intertwined psychological and developmental factors.
Developing Social Communication Skills to Help the Child Make Friends
Verbal communication is considered an important skill for forming and maintaining friendships:
- · Active listening shows interest in others.
- · Conversation skills include starting, sustaining, and ending a dialogue politely.
- · Expressing feelings with appropriate words helps in clear communication.
- · Body language and eye contact are among the most important elements of interaction.
- · Conflict resolution and negotiation skills maintain friendships during disagreements.
Increasing the Child's Self-Confidence Supports Them in Forming Friendships
Self-confidence and basic social skills represent the cornerstone of healthy relationships among children.
- · Developing social skills like sharing and eye contact.
- · Promoting autonomy according to the theory of secure attachment.
- · Training on problem-solving skills in social situations.
- · Using behavior modification techniques to increase initiative.
- · Encouraging group activities to enhance self-confidence.
- · Family support and increasing the development of the child's skills and self-confidence.
Understanding Emotions to Help the Child Successfully Make Friends
The child's emotions must be understood to help them form friendships:
- · Relying on Goleman's theory of emotional intelligence.
- · Teaching the child to name emotions and express them healthily.
- · Using breathing and relaxation techniques to control anger.
- · Enhancing skills of empathy with others.
- · The role of the family in promoting a safe environment for emotional expression.
- · Linking positive emotional behavior to social success.
The Importance of Joint Play for Helping the Child Make Friends
Joint play is a natural means for developing social communication and building friendships, such as:
- · Free play is a natural way to develop social skills.
- · Cooperative activities reduce aggressive behavior.
- · Enhancing endorphin release during group play.
- · Symbolic play helps train imagination and cooperation.
- · Involving children in team sports.
- · Improving non-verbal communication skills during play.
The Role of Parents in Helping the Child Form Healthy Friendships
Parental support creates a safe environment that facilitates the child's formation of successful relationships as follows:
- · Providing a supportive environment free from negative criticism.
- · Encouraging the child to host friends at home.
- · Teaching the child skills to start and end a conversation.
- · Monitoring behavioral changes indicative of social isolation.
- · Cooperating with specialists in case of social delay.
- · Presenting models of healthy relationships from the parents' lives.
- · Using positive rewards to support social behavior.
Dealing with Difficulties in Making Friends When Challenges Exist
The presence of disorders or social challenges requires early and appropriate intervention strategies, such as:
- · Identifying disorders like autism or social anxiety.
- · Applying early intervention programs to improve communication.
- · Training the child on skills to deal with rejection.
- · Involving the child in small support groups.
- · Utilizing group therapy to enhance interaction.
- · Periodic assessment of social development with specialists.
The School Plays an Important Role in Helping Children Form Friendships
The school is a pivotal environment for teaching the child skills of cooperation and social integration as follows:
- · Preparing a supportive and inclusive classroom environment.
- · Monitoring bullying and early intervention to prevent it.
- · Teaching cooperation skills within classroom activities.
- · Organizing small work groups to enhance interaction.
- · Training teachers to detect signs of social isolation.
- · Involving the school psychologist in monitoring relationships between students.
- · Promoting human values like respect and sharing.
Article Summary
Making friends in childhood is not just a social aspect, but an integrated biological and psychological process that affects the child's mental and emotional growth. The absence of friendships may be linked to problems like isolation and depression in later stages.
Therefore, it becomes necessary for the family and school to work together to support the child on this journey. Through applying scientific strategies such as developing emotional intelligence and interactive play, the child can acquire stable social skills.