Children can sometimes struggle building friendships at a young age. Spending time with friends can help a child’s mental and emotional health and having a group of friends provides a strong support system. Here are some tips and activities you can suggest to help your child form lasting friendships.
Play Dates
Schedule a play date with a classmate or neighbor family to help your child build lasting friendships. Play dates at home allow children to spend quality time together and interact using their imaginations. Imaginative role play is a fun friendship activity that lets both kids interact freely and creatively. For example, kids can role play as superheroes, using pillow cases as capes and fly around the house saving the day!
Role playing as superheroes can also affect your child’s development. According to a recent study, children who pretend to be superheroes experience the “Batman Effect”—they work harder, persevere in difficult tasks, and exude confidence. Children take on the characteristics they are role playing, improving their performance ability and lessening their anxiety or stress.
Find inspiration for your next superhero role play adventure with the personalized book I Am A Super Kid!—your child dives into an imaginary comic world to become the superhero!
Art Projects
Shareable coloring books offer a creative activity to bond kids together. A personalized coloring book like Color in the Treehouse with Me features both children’s names and includes a poster to make frameable art!
Another friendship art activity you can give to each other is a hand print flower collage. You’ll need:
- Construction paper
- Scissors
- Black marker
- Paint in various colors
- Paper plates
Cut out a small circle from construction paper and glue it to a blank page. Add paint to different paper plates. Next, have your child dip their hand into different colors of paint and stamp their hand print around the circle to make a hand print flower. Once it’s dry, each child can write words that describe their friend on each hand print, such as kind, happy, strong, and friendly. Kids can swap their paintings to show how they love and appreciate their friend.
Story Time
Storybooks can bring kids together, such as We Go Together Like…—a book personalized for two friends, that features the children’s names and photos! Children can read these stories together or cuddle together during storytime. A personalized storybook is a meaningful best friend gift the two can share at every play date!
Game Time
Games provide a fun and easy way for children to interact and become acquainted. Board games let kids connect and play together for hours. Matching or memory card games are also ideal for kids to make friends, as they take turns playing or cooperating to find the card match together.
Kids can also play games outside. Turn a game of hopscotch into a “get to know me” activity. In each square, write a word with chalk such as food, vacation, color, and animal. As you hop, announce your favorites according to the word on the square—“My favorite color is blue!”
This outdoor friendship game allows kids to socialize and bond.
Resources
https://www.wsj.com/articles/superhero-costumes-come-to-parents-rescue-1486482657
