Friends?

Your baby will soon have to get social to maintain healthy development. Here’s how you can get your tot to make new friends

FRANCESCO Guicciardini said, “Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them.” Friendships are as important for your toddler as they are for you. Kids learn about love, empathy, kindness and caring for another through interaction with other children. Valuable social skills including good behaviour and solving misunderstandings are imparted naturally through a bond of friendship. Here is a checklist on how you can help your kiddo make new friends.

BE A ROLE MODEL

Children often learn behaviour and communication skills from the way their parents behave or communicate. Be a role model for your child. Eileen Kennedy-Moore, professor for The Great Courses audio/video series, Raising Emotionally and Socially Healthy Kids, feels that parents can model good friendship skills through good communication in the family, having fun together as a family, and showing that they value spending time with their own friends.

TALK ABOUT FRIENDS

“Start from just talking about friends or listing/brainstorming some qualities of good friends with your children; like being honest, friendly, sharing, kind, talking in a polite manner and respecting each other,” says Kashika Dabra, pychologist and counsellor at Delhi Public School, Gurgaon.