Thoughts for the Week:

For a child, friendship is a way to begin learning about people who aren't family members. Early friendships can be close ones for a child, and often, as friends come and go, these friendships lead to painful separations. I know of a four year old who moved to a new house and had to leave several close friends. In talking with his parents at the time, he expressed a lot of anger about being taken away from them, and when he visited his old neighborhood a year later, he broke into tears again when it was time to leave. Learning to cope with the many goodbyes in our lives takes time -- and help.

Friendship is also a way for children to learn about managing strong feelings like anger, love, and jealousy. Every friendship has its ups and downs. When friends, early in life, have a chance to work through problems and difficulties, they can learn that part of friendship is coming together after a disagreement to build a relationship that is even stronger than it was before.