Helping Children Build Friendships: A Foundation for Lifelong Learning

Making friends is one of the most important parts of your child’s development and learning.
Through these early relationships, children learn who they are, develop a sense of being and belonging and begin to understand the world around them.

Research shows that friendships are linked to increased social awareness and stronger self-esteem.

Why Friendship Skills Matter

Children develop important social skills such as:

• Sharing and taking turns
• Active listening
• Co-operative exploration and learning
• Managing disagreements
• Respecting different ideas and perspectives

How to Support Your Child’s Friendships:

Here are some effective ways to support your child in building and maintaining friendships:

1. Model Positive Social Interactions
   Children learn a lot by watching adults. Demonstrate kindness, patience, and cooperation when interacting with others. When educators and parents model respectful behaviour, children are more likely to do the same.
   
   
2. Encourage Politeness
   Teach your child to use polite language such as “please” and “thank you.” Encouraging respectful communication sets the tone for positive interactions.
   
   
3. Practise Sharing and Turn-Taking
   Use everyday moments to talk about sharing and taking turns. You can role-play scenarios or use playtime as an opportunity to practice these skills.
   
   
4. Provide Group Play Opportunities
   Small group activities like ball games, art projects, or building with blocks are great for encouraging teamwork, problem-solving and collaboration.
   
   
5. Use Stories and Role Play
   Books about friendship are a wonderful way to explore social situations. Read together and discuss how characters solve problems or show kindness. Use puppets or toys to role-play different scenarios with your child.
   
   
6. Praise Positive Social Behaviour
   Reinforce kind behaviour by acknowledging it. This helps children understand the impact of their actions.

Friendship and Belonging

• A child’s sense of identity develops through relationships. Feeling included, respected and connected to others helps children see themselves as valued and involved citizens of our community.
  
  
• At Bright Steps Academy, we believe in nurturing these vital early friendships as part of a holistic, play-based approach to learning.
  By supporting children in developing both strong social and emotional skills, we help lay the groundwork for lifelong confidence, resilience and connection.

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Our Core Values

At Bright Steps Academy, everything we do is shaped by our values: