Making new friends in a new environment can be daunting.
With the various dynamics and personalities to navigate, there is indeed a lot for kids to learn.
As a parent, by sharing the following principles with your child and putting them into practice in everyday life, you can support them to form strong friendships that they can rely on in the new school.
🗝 Mutual respect is key. 🤝
1. Always ask before you act.
Asking for consent is often the first step to show the other person that you care and respect them.
Sentences like “Can I play with you?” or “Can I borrow this please?” can be practice across all sorts of daily activities.
And it’s ok that people rejects us sometimes too. We can find alternative people to play with or other activities to do.
2. Be creative and problem solve together
In times of conflict, sentences like “Can I have my turn when you’re done?”, “Maybe we can do…together to make the game more fun.“, or “Would you be able to share just…with me while keeping the…that you’re still playing?” can be used.
When we brainstorm together about possible ways to share and achieve common goals, we can often find a win-win solution that leaves everybody satisfied, and sometimes strengthen our friendship too.💡
3. Talk about rules that are important to us
During play, kids often have to set up game rules together, but setting something that’s fair and everyone can agree on is not an easy task.Hosting family meetings and discussing with your little ones about family rules can be a great way to practice some of the skills needed in social context.
Find a problem that everybody feels strongly about, and brainstorm on possible solutions/rules to follow. Sometimes kids may come up with rules that only meet their interests and are unfair for the rest. Prompting kids to think about how they would feel if others set the same rule for them, or simulating scenarios where unfair rules are applied and let children experience the consequence, are both great ways for children to learn to be fair and respectful towards other when facing a conflict of interest.
Relationship with parents and siblings are important foundations for children to develop strong friendships.💛
Through practicing the 3 tips above regularly at home, making new friends upon entering primary school should be a lot easier for your little ones. 👭🏻
