It takes practice to learn how to be a good friend who is kind, supportive, trustworthy, and a good listener. These are skills kids can begin to learn at an early age. Five-year-olds are at a wonderful age in which they not only share toys, but also share ideas. They are curious about friends’ lives, ask questions, and share stories with each other. You may hear them talk about a "best friend" ― but don't be surprised if their best friend changes daily or weekly. They tend to be more collaborative in their play than preschoolers, which can lead to competition and conflict.
Social Skills How to Help Your Five-Year-Old Build Healthy Relationships
Use the following tips to help your child develop and keep friendships:
Talk About Friendship Skills
Help children draw the connection between their kind, cooperative behavior and friendship. For young children, this might sound like, "Can you share your blocks with your friends? It's nice to share with friends"; "You gave your friend a hug when she was crying! That helped her feel better"; or "Let's help our friends clean up before we go home ― it's nice to help our friends." As the Daniel Tiger song reminds us, "Friends help each other. Yes they do, it's true."
A Silly Folded Picture
Creating a silly picture with others can help your child develop creativity and cooperative learning skills.Do This Activity
Playdates are not only fun, they are also a great opportunity for young children to practice friendship skills, as they learn how to share toys, take turns, cooperate and work through problems that inevitably arise. Help them expand their circle by scheduling playdates with kids outside of their familiar peer group. While young kids need supervision, make sure you also give them room to figure out how to play independently, using their own imagination.
Be Sensitive to Temperament
A child's basic temperament is hard-wired. Some children are more cautious than others, eager to observe before diving in. Some children are more naturally comfortable with big groups and new social settings. If your child is on the introverted side of the scale, they might need support in learning how to interject themselves into a group at the park, and they may prefer smaller playdates to big group activities. If your child is on the extroverted side of the scale, they may need reminders about reaching out and listening to the ideas of children who are less bold about speaking up. And all children need alone time sometimes to wind down and enjoy their own thoughts.
Help Your Child Manage Emotions with Arthur
Whether facing down a bully, worrying about a new teacher or being the very last person on earth to lose his baby teeth, Arthur and his friends manage to solve their crises with imagination, kindness and a lot of humor.Find Activities
Activity Finder: Learn With Your Five-Year-Old
ActivitiesView All Activities
The Fix-It Crew
Does your child like to fix things? You can take a tour of your home or yard with your child to make a list of tasks that need to be completed and then decide how to get the jobs done.