<— “Friend” in ASL (American Sign Language)
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a FRIEND is “a person who you like and enjoy being with” and/or “a person who helps or supports someone or something.”
There are some wonderful storybooks for children about friendship. The Frog & Toad series chronicles a very special relationship between two friends. The Arthur books demonstrate how a group of friends goes about their routines together, and how they deal with challenges. The Max and Ruby stories tell of a loving friendship between siblings. The Giving Tree tells the story of friendship between humans and nature, depicting a parent-child relationship.
On television, shows like Bear in the Big Blue House, Peanuts (Charlie Brown), and Sesame Street model friendships between groups and pairs in a variety of situations. While watching Sesame Street, your child might even learn how to say FRIEND in Spanish or ASL! Most of the time, whether it’s a book or a show, there is an underlying message of friendship or a different lesson learned between the friends.
On a Google search, I found the definition of FRIEND to be “a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection;” the second definition there says “a list of contacts associated with a social networking website.” LOL! I invite you to read my blog from October 5th (2013), which discusses a bit about those contacts…some of whom are truly your friends, yet the public nature of the correspondence can take away the intimacy that helps a friendship thrive.
As babies and toddlers, it seems our friends are the other babies at day care, in our play group, or those who attend the same “mommy & me” classes. As preschoolers and young elementary students, our friends are pretty simply our classmates. Once we get to 3rd grade, if not sooner, we have a bit more discretion regarding the use of the word “friend.” And the older we get, the more difficult it can be to make a friend; it’s not just everyone in our homeroom or all the kids in our bunk at overnight camp. So – in my opinion – it’s important to really cherish true friendships…nurture them…and tell a friend how much she or he means to you. It can go a long way.
