Part 2 of Understanding Social Friendships for Kids

If you’re just joining this series, check out part 1 on why calling every person you meet a, “friend,” can cause more headaches than you anticipate, and how we solved it. Last time, we talked about strangers.

Today, we’re going to focus on explaining acquaintances to kids.

Acquaintances originally encompassed strangers for us. However I realize some people might need a harder delineation here, thus why strangers was included. If these seem to overlap, it’s because they do.

An Acquaintance is still pretty much a stranger. But, it’s a stranger you’re a bit more familiar with. We can probably recognize them by face, and we might even know their name. But, we wouldn’t think anything of it if they didn’t remember us or come say, “hello” to us.

Who could this be?

• The nice lady at Target that seemingly checks you out every time you’re there.
• A child you’re been playing with on the playground for a while, or maybe you’ve seen at the playground more than once
• Your friend’s sibling that you’ve been introduced to because it’s polite, but you don’t see, talk to, or play with.
• This might be a teacher that’s a different grade, maybe you know them by name and see them in the lunch room, but you have no real contact/conversation with them.
• It might be a friend of a friend, and your mutual friend introduced you in the hopes that you would also become friends.

What do interactions look like? Honestly, these look a lot like our interactions with strangers. Often time, people go form being a stranger to an acquaintance quickly.

• Offering a smile or a wave as you pass by
• Asking, “how are you today?”
• Acknowledging them as they speak to you or ask you questions
• Being polite (please, thank you, excuse me)
• No name calling, bullying or insulting behaviors.

Additionally, if they’re a child and ask to be included in a group game that you’re playing, you may opt to include them.

How much access or identifying information do these people get? Still, not much

Anything added to our list from strangers shows up in red

• First names
• Who your parents are
• What church/school/activities you do in an effort to find common ground

It still does not include

• Last names
• Home address
• Team names, or where classes/activities are held
• Phone numbers or messenger friend codes.

Next up, check out peers