Part 3 of Understanding Social Friendships for Kids

Welcome back! We’ve been talking about explaining friendship to kids, and categorizing those friends in different levels. First was strangers, and closely tied into them was acquaintances. Today, we discuss peers. If your child associates “peer” as other children, you might have a better time replacing this word with something else, such as, “mates,” or “familiars.”

What does a peer look like? A peer is someone that you see routinely. You know them by name, you anticipate seeing them, you notice when they’re missing.

Who might be a peer?

• Classmates
• People you have extra curricular activities with such as sports, scouts, clubs, etc
• This could be adults such as coaches, teachers or friend’s parents.

How much access or identifying information do peers get?

• First and last names
• They might be able to point out your home if they have a shared bus route
• They’ll probably know where you go to school or do activities, and what grade you’re in
• You’ll probably work with them as part of a team and collaborate often

What they won’t get/do

• Unless you’re hosting the team/event at your house, this is probably not someone you invite over frequently or 1 on 1
• You probably won’t turn to them for emotional help/support when things go wrong
• If sleep overs are something allowed, you’re probably not doing sleep overs with a peer
• You and your parents probably don’t know their parents on a first name basis

Next up will be explaining, “friends.”