Children interact with their peers in different ways at different ages. Penny Tassoni looks at the formula for early friendships
'Who did you play with today?' is a question often asked of young children as they are picked up at the end of a session. Having friends is, after all, important to nearly all of us. Relationships with friends are different to those we have with our families. Friends entertain us and provide us with moral support and sometimes even criticism. The role of friendships is reflected in language through affectionate words such as 'pal', 'chum and 'mate'. For children, having someone to play with becomes increasingly important as they become older, and so it is useful to understand how children gradually learn to make and keep friends.
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