Why Friendship Is Important at Preschool

Often underrated, friendship has a tremendous impact on a child’s well-being, especially in the early childhood days. It has a positive developmental influence that offers an opportunity for children to learn and develop in a social world. Establishing relationships with other children, talking to others and sharing a bond with peers not only builds self-confidence but also helps a kid adapt more easily to the early childhood environment. In the absence of a good friend’s circle, children feel isolated which can affect them psychologically.

In this blog post, our expert Markham preschool teachers have compiled a list of points that validate how important friendship is for children during preschool years. This will help parents understand the relationship their little ones share with their peer and how they can nurture it for their child’s development.

Helps Develop Life Skills

Making friends and creating friendships develop life skills that help in increasing your child’s wisdom, self-esteem and confidence. They understand the importance of sharing, listening to each other and being sensitive to other person’s point of view. Also, it helps in learning the rules of conversation and age-appropriate behaviour. Moreover, having friends of both sexes is also important for developing life skills. It is studied that children with friends of both genders, as a group, have greater social skills compared to children who have only same-sex friendships. As a parent, raise your kid in a gender-neutral environment so that they are comfortable creating friendships with both boys and girls.

Makes Them Feel Loved and Wanted

Apart from the love showered by the parents, children also need love from their peers. When little ones make friends, they are able to communicate their concerns, dreams and fears which make them feel more wanted and less isolated. Additionally, the feeling of compassion from friends will encourage your child to express their feelings as well that will help in developing confidence when they grow old. If your little one is shy, take out time to talk to him/her. Engage them in conversations so they develop a habit of talking and expressing their thoughts which will help them in interacting with other children as well.

Helps Develop Mutual Trust and Assistance

Friendships that develop at preschool encourage children to understand reciprocity by sharing their lunch, exchanging books and toys with their friends that help them learn the pattern of ‘give and take’. This creates a feeling of mutual trust and assistance as children see their friends as people who help each other and whom they can count on whenever they need help.

Makes Them More Creative and Imaginative

When playing with friends, children often engage in role-playing acting like a doctor, patient, parent or teacher. These fun activities are great opportunities for children to develop their imagination which is the door to possibilities. Being imaginative helps them evolve their creativity, ingenuity and outside-the-box thinking. Imagining, trying new ways to do things and experimenting are important for the overall development of a child as it fosters critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills.

Helps Learn to Deal with Adverse Situations

Friendship is not all about spending good time together, it comes with its fair share of ups and downs. Disagreements among peers, fight over a seat or toy and lack of consensus over which game to play are some of the issues that lead to trouble in friendship at preschool days. These quarrels allow children to learn how to deal with conflict and adversity. Also, being a parent, it is your responsibility to navigate your little one through the conflict.

Helps Learn Team Building Skills

Classroom activities at playschool encourage children to make teams with their friends and play together freely. Whether it is a tug of war or treasure hunt, participating in these team-building exercises help children get a sense of building their own community, learn how to work together with children of their age group and better navigate social relationships. Additionally, these activities also provide kids with situational tools that they can recognize to interact with others in a meaningful way.

Friendship in early childhood plays a vital role in nurturing the emotional, physical and social well-being of children. Generally, preschool is the first time children meet other kids of their age, it is their first chance of making friends and interacting with peers. Also, learning the importance of friendship at this tender age is beneficial to build the foundation their personality. That’s why making friends at preschool days is crucial for children. Being a reputed preschool in Markham, we always suggest parents encourage their little ones to develop different aspects of friendship and guide them through the relationships.