↑
  • Start Here
    • Home
    • About Practical Mommy
    • Work With Me
    • Contact Me
  • Work at Home
    • Detailed How-To Guide
    • Blogging Resources
  • Mom Hacks
    • Mom Hacks
    • Mommy Style
  • Parenting
    • Parenting
    • Parenting Lounge
  • Motherhood
    • Pregnancy
    • Relationships

Practical Mommy

  • Start Here
    • Home
    • About Practical Mommy
    • Work With Me
    • Contact Me
  • Work at Home
    • Detailed How-To Guide
    • Blogging Resources
  • Mom Hacks
    • Mom Hacks
    • Mommy Style
  • Parenting
    • Parenting
    • Parenting Lounge
  • Motherhood
    • Pregnancy
    • Relationships

Teach Your Child To Be A Good Friend

By Kristen Miller | Disclosure Policy: This post may include affiliate links.

Share on Facebook
Facebook
0Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
0Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon
0

Childhood is about making connections and learning. Children learn through play and it's important that they have other children in their life to play with. Whether it's siblings, school friends, neighbors or cousins, it's important to teach our children how to be a good friend.

The first step to having good friends is learning how to be a good friend.

Teach Your Child To Be A Good Friend

How do you teach your child to be a good friend?

My older daughter is the opposite of shy. She will run up to any new child she meets and they are instantly her new best friend. Although my younger daughter is only one, I can already tell she will be the shy sister.

Since my older daughter jumps into being best buddies with other kids so quickly, I need to teach her the subtleties of how to be a good friend. How to empathize with other children and imagine how they are thinking and feeling.

Advice and Stories from Real Moms

Teach Your Child To Be A Good Friend

Take something to share with friends

We've been teaching our three-year-old about sharing with friends. Recently, we have started taking small "gifts" such as a sticker pack or bouncy balls when we're out with friends so that our son can share them with their kids. It has helped a lot, because as an only child, he really doesn't have to share much. - Donella from Glue Sticks and Gumdrops

Tell them when they are being a good friend

I try to point out when they are being a good friend or when someone else is being a good friend. - Brittany from Pennies Into Pearls

Teach them that some "friends" aren't really friends

My oldest daughter has had issues with friends in the past. Friends who have treated her family with disrespect, friends who have tried to steal her boyfriends and so much more. I always tell her that friends come and go, but the ones who respect you and want to truly be your friends are the ones who treat you the way they want to be treated and that she should always do the same thing. Respect and trust are earned and she shouldn't give them away before their earned. - Vina Kent from The Full Time Schoolhouse

Find someone with a good heart

To be a good friend they need to choose their friends wisely. They will only want to be a good friend to someone they genuinely care about. It's not about popularity or who has the nicest stuff. If they find someone who has a good heart, being a good friend will come easy. It's all about being there and never going back on their word. Good friends are hard to come by...so I want them to know to hold that close! - Dana from Momma Didn't Say

Ask them lots of questions

This is such a difficult thing to teach because we want our children to learn how to function within their peer groups without us hovering, but we also want to teach them this important life skill. We are in the depths of teaching this right now with our 6 year old daughter. Believe it or not there is girl drama as early as 1st grade! We stress that to have friends she must first be a good friend to others by showing kindness and not excluding others. I try to ask LOTS and LOTS of questions like, “How did that make you feel when she did/said that?” “How do you think that made her feel?” “What can you say/do next time that situation happens?” I believe by doing this it has validated my daughter’s feelings and taught her the words for what she and others in the situation are feeling. - Sammi from Grounded & Surrounded

Teach them by sharing your own friendships

I share with them sweet or helpful things friends have done for me and let them know how it really makes me appreciate my friend's friendship. - Lauren from Mom Home Guide

Give them time to play

We teach them to be friends by giving them time to play. They always seem to be better together when mom is not hovering around making sure "this or that" does not happen.- Tahnee from Sincerely Rose

Encourage them to go play with new friends

I encourage my children to look around them and be aware of how others are feeling. If they see someone who is playing by themselves, I encourage them to go over and ask that person to play. Kids are inherently self-centered, but with the right coaching they can become aware of how their actions impact others. - Sarah from Grounded and Surrounded, the YouTube Channel

Role play with them about their friends feelings

By role playing. My kids are still young so it's up to me to teach them how to behave. I remind them to think about their friends feelings. - Tasia from Batavia's Best Bargains

Instruct in the moment

I've had a few conversations with my 3 year old. Mostly, I instruct him in the moment, sort of like feeding him lines off stage. I think he is beginning to understand. He's walked up to a few of his friends at school, unprompted, and offered comfort when they are crying or invited them to play. - Marie from MarieOsborne.com

Thank you Moms!

Friendship is so important for young children to learn and grow, but also as older children and adults interacting in society. The key is to be mindful and aware of our children's relationships and actively teach them how to express themselves around others.

See all the Parenting Lounge posts here.

Are your kids shy or outgoing around other kids? Let us know how you teach your child to be a good friend in the comments.

Welcome to the Parenting Lounge!

You can also download the free ebook "Inside The Parenting Lounge" where I collected the top ten parenting lounge posts and packaged them in a PDF ebook.

Click the arrows below to browse the Parenting Lounge and download the free ebook

Prev18 of 27Next
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse

Tips To Transition To A Sippy Cup

Tips to transition to a sippy cup

Prev18 of 27Next
Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse

Share on Facebook
Facebook
0Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
0Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on StumbleUpon
StumbleUpon
0

Filed Under: Parenting, Parenting Lounge Tagged With: parenting, Parenting Lounge

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A 30-something Mommy to 2 darling girls (2 and 4) and a newborn baby boy. I love reading, writing, trying new beers with my husband and binge watching series on Netflix.

Looking for something?

Connect

Looking for something?

Connect

Most Recent Post

  • Your work from home setup, Let’s talk about it.
  • About Practical Mommy
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy
  • Contact Me
© Practical Mommy 2015. Permission granted to use images with a clear link back to the page. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.


Copyright ©2021, Practical Mommy. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs