BENEFITS OF PLAYING WITH FRIENDS

Harmony Day Saturday 21 March 2020

Harmony Day celebrates Australia’s diversity. It’s all about inclusiveness, respect and creating a sense of belonging for everyone. This got us thinking of our first best friends and how excited we were to see them at school every day. They made us feel comfortable to be ourselves and to explore who we wanted to be. Even through adulthood, these friendships remain an important aspect of our lives, from asking for advice, sharing life’s events to laughing uncontrollably together. For children, making these friendships at an early age is a vital part of their development, especially for their social and emotional intelligence.

According to Catherine Bagwell, Ph.D., of Emory University, friendships help build a child’s self-esteem, social competence and confidence. While having a friend, especially when starting school or a new activity, also helps children also easily adapt to their surroundings and this continues to happen in early adulthood.

When playing with friends, children begin to understand empathy while they develop crucial skills and behaviours such as conflict resolution, sharing, corporation, collaboration, and verbal and non-verbal communication skills. To help your child develop these skills, we’ve come up with 5 games they can play with their friends!

5 games to play with friends:

Make a Band

Form a band and play a new rock or pop anthem for family and friends!

Make Believe Play

Open a café and serve the finest tea or open a store and sell only the freshest produce in town. 

Dress Ups

Walk in someone else’s shoes and experience life as a teacher, doctor, cowboy, astronaut, or whoever they want to be!

Puzzles

Prefer to have some quiet time with friends? Why not work together and solve a puzzle. 

Board Games & Card Games

Reduce screen time and learn while having fun playing a board game or card game with friends.