Friendship in childhood: why it is so important for children to have friends and how their relationships evolve

Some countries today celebrate International Friendship Day, a date established by the UN in 2011 to highlight this important relationship as a tool capable of achieving peace, ending violence and poverty, and achieving a more just and sustainable society .

The human being is a social being by nature, and from childhood the first friendship relationships begin to occur, which, over time, are evolving towards other more special forms. We tell you how the meaning of friendship between children changes and why it is so important that they have friends.

Why is childhood friendship so important?

Friendship is essential for children's emotional and social development. It begins at the same moment in which they look for that first friend to play, because with him they feel they have fun and are happy.

These first interactions occur after two years, although it will not be until six years when children incorporate the concept of "best friend", being fully aware of all that the term implies.

In addition to playing, having fun and being happy next to friends, childhood friendship brings other great benefits for its development:

  • They begin to handle complex values ​​such as loyalty and reciprocity, and they learn to trust other people and in a different way than they knew until then.

  • Respect, tolerance and empathy. Children learn to accept their friends with their differences, and to be tolerant and respectful. They also suffer when their friends have a hard time, and help each other to overcome the bad times.

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  • Conflict resolution: In a group of friends problems can arise that must be resolved among all its members, seeking a joint solution and being aware of the importance of cooperation.

  • When solving a problem, children learn negotiation techniques, as well as to assert his opinion before others.

This is how friendship evolves in childhood and adolescence

As we have just said, friendship begins to occur after approximately two years. At that moment, the child chooses his friends to play based on positive experiences that you had previously with them. It is the stage of the game in parallel, that is, each one will play independently but sharing space.

As they grow older, children select their friendships taking into account other characteristics, such as their personality or their tastes. In this way, they often tend to interact with children who share their same hobbies, or have a similar or complementary character to theirs.

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Until they reach a higher degree of maturity, children often change friends easily, and even get mad at that "great friend" they sometimes talk about. It is absolutely normal for this to happen, since the first friendships are nourished by games, quarrels and reconciliations, forming part of a learning process.

The concept of "best friend" tends to appear around six or seven years, when the child has reached a sufficient level of maturity. This "best friend" becomes a key piece in his life, and with him you will learn wonderful things like the importance of mutual protection, unconditional support and even to keep secrets and trust.

But with these intense relationships the first disappointments also come when the child feels that the other has failed him, the pain in a fight or the deep sadness if the friendship ends because of external circumstances, such as a separation.

In adolescence, friendship becomes essential. Teens spend long periods of time with their friends, so their opinion becomes extremely important to them. At this stage, young people begin to forge their tastes and personality based on their friends, hence the importance of these friendships having a positive and healthy influence for them.

Childhood friendships mark us forever. Some endure in adulthood, being a pure and true friendship. Others end up disappearing with time, but we will always remember them with a special affection.

Photos | iStock

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