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April 2007
Helping Young Children Develop Friendships
Karen Stephens, M.S. in Education, specializing in early childhood
Online Resources
- Social Skills Children Need to Make and Keep Friends
Karen Stephens outlines skills that young children need to develop to form friendships.
http://www.childcareexchange.com/library_pe/5227004.pdf - Having Friends, Making Friends, and Keeping Friends: Relationships as Educational Contexts. ERIC Digest.
This digest discusses the main themes in friendship relations--affiliation and common interests--which are first understood by children in early childhood.
http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/1992/hartup92.html - Young Children's Emotional Development and School Readiness. ERIC Digest.
This digest notes that longitudinal research links children's emotional development to school readiness and early school success. It includes a discussion of interventions designed for children entering school.
http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/2003/raver03.html - Children without Friends
This National Network for Child Care publication discusses the importance of peer relationships to children's development.
http://www.nncc.org/Guidance/dc26_wo.friends1.html - The Early Years: Prosocial Skills
This excerpt from the Violence Prevention Resource Guide for Parents points out that friendships are an essential part of healthy child development.
http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/pubs/ivpaguide/ivpa%20summary%20sheets/summary-early-prosocialskill.pdf - Encouraging Social Skills in Young Children: Tips Teachers Can Share with Parents
This article notes that children who are socially competent show a responsiveness and a sensitivity to the social context and to others.
http://www.humsci.auburn.edu/parent/socialskills.html - Helping Young Children Make New Friends at School
This article discusses how parents can act positively to help children develop new friendships.
http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/pubs/ivpaguide/appendix/clark-helping.pdf - Making Friends and Getting Along with Peers
This book discusses how establishing relationships with peers is a major developmental task that is not always easy for children.
http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9824&page=163
Illinois Early Learning Tip Sheets
- Making and Keeping Friends
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/makekeepfriends.htm - Helping Children Learn to Get Along
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/conflict.htm - He's Teasing Me!
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/teasing.htm - Kids Who Care
http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/kidscare.htm
Additional Resources
- Let's Be Friends: Peer Competence and Social Inclusion in Early Childhood Programs
Author(s): Kemple, Kristen Mary
Publication Date: 2004
Availability: New York: Teachers College Press
ERIC Database: Selected Records
To search the ERIC database for resources on this topic, use this search strategy: search on descriptors young children or preschool children or preschool education or early childhood education or early experience. Combine with descriptors friendship or peer relationship or interpersonal relationship.
How to Obtain ERIC Documents and Journal Articles:
References identified with an ED (ERIC document)or EJ (ERIC journal) are cited in the ERIC database. ERIC Documents (citations identified by an ED number) may be available in full text from ERIC at no cost at the ERIC Web site: http://www.eric.ed.gov. Journal articles are available from the original journal, interlibrary loan services, or article reproduction clearinghouses.
If you would like to conduct your own free ERIC database searches via the Internet, go directly to http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=advanced
- ERIC Document No.: ED488921
Everyday Learning about Friendship
Author(s): Hammer, Marie; Linke, Pam
Publication Date: 2004
Availability: Watson, Australia: Early Childhood Australia (http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au).
Abstract: The authors explore how parents, carers, and others involved in the lives of young children can support and encourage them as they extend their circle of friends. - ERIC Journal No.: EJ673575
Necessary Social Skills Related to Peer Acceptance. Review of Research
Author(s): Kim, Yanghee A.
Source: Childhood Education, v79 n4 p234-36 Sum 2003
Publication Date: 2003
Abstract: This article offers suggestions for teaching alternative behaviors to aggressive or withdrawn children, direct entry behaviors, positive responses to peers' initiation, verbal assertiveness, engagement in complex pretend play, and ways to show positive affection toward peers. - ERIC Journal No.: EJ671989
The Friendship Features of Preschool Children: Links with Prosocial Behavior and Aggression.
Author(s): Sebanc, Anne M.
Source: Social Development, v12 n2 p249-68 2003
Publication Date: 2003
Abstract: This article discusses whether features of preschool children's mutual friendships were associated with prosocial and aggressive behavior. - ERIC Journal No.: EJ666738
Preschool Children's Friendships and Peer Acceptance: Links to Social Competence
Author(s): Lindsey, Eric W.
Source: Child Study Journal, v32 n3 p145-56 2002
Publication Date: 2002
Abstract: A study examined preschoolers' peer acceptance, aggression, and peer competence. - ERIC Journal No.: EJ661617
Profiles of Social Competence among Low-Income African American Preschool Children
Author(s): Mendez, Julia L.; Fantuzzo, John; Cicchetti, Dante
Source: Child Development, v73 n4 p1085-1100 Jul-Aug 2002
Publication Date: 2002
Abstract: A study investigated relations between children's attributes and peer play competence among African American preschoolers attending Head Start. Six distinctive profiles of personal attributes linked to adaptation in social functioning are identified. - ERIC Journal No.: EJ659317
Thank You for Being a Friend: Fostering Friendships for Children withAutism Spectrum Disorder in Inclusive Environments
Author(s): Danko, Cassandra D.; Buysse, Virginia
Source: Young Exceptional Children, v6 n1 p2-9 Fall 2002
Publication Date: 2002
Abstract: This article discusses supporting friendship formation in young children with autism. - ERIC Journal No.: EJ650433
Setting Effects on Friendship Formation among Young Children with and without Disabilities
Author(s): Buysse, Virginia; Goldman, Barbara Davis; Skinner, Martie L.
Source: Exceptional Children, v68 n4 p503-17 Sum 2002
Publication Date: 2002
Abstract: A study examined the effects of social setting on the friendship formation of 333 preschool children (120 with disabilities) enrolled in inclusive early childhood programs.
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