“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve.” -Richard Dreyfuss, Stand by Me
You must have come across movies that show the importance of friendships and how healthy friendships become a crucial part of one’s life as one grows up. Movies such as Dil Chahta Hai, 3 Idiots, Chillar Party, and Kai Po Che are some of the best works of Bollywood at depicting the importance of healthy peer relationships in one’s life.
While parents provide a vital foundation of love and security, a special kind of learning occurs in the vibrant world of peers. Friendships aren’t just fun and games for children; they are a crucial training ground for social and emotional development. Peer relationships are one of the most important things in a child’s life. The way a child interacts with their peers affects them for their entire lives. That’s why its important for children to develop healthy relationships at an early age.
When parents were asked what lays the foundation for child development, they replied with good education, good nutrition, teaching religious/spiritual pathways, teaching good values, and providing a trust fund so that a child has resources in the future. But, what they missed out on was the importance of a child having healthy relationships while growing up, the context in which a child grows. Parents can teach all sorts of manners and values to a child but if they have a negative influence growing up, they will tend to be problematic. That’s why it’s so important to help your child maintain and keep healthy relationships so that they have a positive influence on them that pushes them to be better.
A study conducted by South Korea during the years 1998 to 2000, revealed that poor peer relationships in the long run can have a deeper influence on children than you can imagine.
It is important to recognize whether a child is getting positively or negatively influenced by their peers.
Positive and Negative Influences of Peer Relationships
Negative Social Behaviours:
Children who grew up finding it difficult to make friends, or those with poor peer relationships tend to be more emotionally vulnerable in the future. They might have problems with social conduct, maintaining healthy relationships, being aggressive, disruptive learning, acting out characteristics, and social isolation. This can lead to external and internal problems in their life such as substance abuse, anxiety, or even depression.
Positive Social Behaviours:
Children with healthy peer relationships have better cognitive development, emerging as more optimistic, depicting qualities such as making better decisions, having healthy relationships, being kind, peaceful conflict resolution, being more empathetic towards others, and leadership.
Why is it Important for children to have healthy peer relationships?
Developing Social Skills:
As a child grows they learn to develop important social skills through group play and doing activities together such as sharing, taking turns, negotiating, and compromising. They learn to communicate effectively, considering another person’s perspective and expressing themselves clearly.
Learning Empathy:
By witnessing a friend’s joy or tears, children foster empathy. They learn to express themselves and feel emotions. This is crucial for having healthy relationships and strengthening bonds.
Confidence through Connection:
Positive peer relationships act as a mirror reflecting a child’s worth. Feeling accepted and valued by their peers boosts a child’s self-esteem and confidence. This sense of belonging is crucial for a child’s emotional well-being.
How Parents Can Help
Children start getting closer to their peers growing up, they tend to listen to their parents less and their friends more. In such a time it is important for parents to have healthy and open discussions with their children to navigate smoothly through the conversations.
Parents should provide children with a sense of security and love by showing affection, talking to them about their day, taking time to play with their child, giving them positive self-talk, and allowing them to express themselves.
Responsive parenting can help children learn how to react in a particular situation. Responding to the cues of children, reacting to their behavior, and developing a strong bond with the child during their early years is essential.
So that even when a child makes a mistake or gets negatively influenced by someone, they can rely on their parents and talk to them about whatever they want.
Parents can also help children develop resilience because we all know friendships wouldn’t always be smooth, but when parents are involved they can supervise the behavior of their child and help them make better choices, resolve conflicts, and maintain friendships.
Building a Well-Rounded Online Community at Cyboard School
At Cyboard, we believe in inclusive education and building a safe space for every child. We do this through:
- We connect students from diverse backgrounds and interests. This allows children to interact with friends from different backgrounds, get introduced to different cultures, and broaden their perspective.
- We inculcate social and emotional learning in our curriculum, which helps children express themselves freely and develop healthy relationships with peers through healthy communication.
- Effective communication is a hallmark of our teaching team. They create an open and interactive learning environment, encouraging students to ask questions, express their thoughts, and collaborate with peers.
If you want your child to grow up in a healthy learning environment without having the urge to fit in, enroll them in Cyboard now.