Page 16 - Salesian Bulletin 2014 [01] January-March

Shutterstock/Olesia Bilkei
According to Aristotle, “friendship is a fruit that ripens slowly”. It can be sown and cultivated. Parents can do much to help their children take their place in society and become capable of constructive and satisfying relationships with others.
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If you don’t pay attention to what is happening between your children and their friends, you neglect a fundamental part of their lives right from their earliest years. Relationships with their peers are essential for the harmonious development of their personality.
Friends make us grow
Helping them develop friendships, step by step, from the very beginning, means you are teaching them to piece together the puzzle that makes up their social identity and providing them with the tools they will need to relate with people in the future.
“Let’s play pirates,” says three-and- a-half year old Len, to his kindergarten companion Henry, who eagerly accepts. The two little friends set off in an imaginary ship (built with chairs), in search of treasure (the Lego bricks) tucked away on a desert island (the table). The game is an amazing learning tool and also lays the foundation for recognising the feelings of others.
Between two and five years old, they learn how to play and how to share things between them. They begin a relationship made up of great adventures and petty squabbles, joys
Up to seven or eight years old, friendship is made up of company, intimacy and affection. Having someone of their own age with them increases self-confidence, points them towards autonomy and reduces stress at delicate times. Only from
and tears, laughter and jealousy , often undervalued by adults.