5 FRIENDSHIP TRUTHS YOUR CHILD MUST KNOW

Children are born, great friends are made! Friendship is at the core of every meaningful relationship- work, marriage, social relationships, etc. so it’s best we groom our children to be the best friend they can be. The following five values of friendship would be a good place to start:

·         Friendship is a gift: Help your kids understand that by being friends with others, we are offering them the privilege to share our lives. We are giving a gift of ourselves, which is an honourable thing to do. We give of ourselves, our time, our resources, etc. and we share the joy and pains of our friends. Friendship teaches us to share. And it gives us the honour to share in people’s lives too.

·         Friendship is an act: The acts of friendship define the quality and impact of friendship. Friendship is not merely about saying, “this person is my friend”, but in being friendly. Let your kids know that friendship is actually about being kind, thoughtful, sensitive, loving, affectionate, etc. it is basically about acting rightly towards others. The basic rule of friendship is this- do to others what you want them to do to you. Teach your children to act towards their friends the way they want to be treated.

·         Friends accept: Friends accept one another for who they are. Friends should complement and not condemn. Encourage your kids to love their friends for whom they are. We are not saying teach them to celebrate their friend’s weaknesses, rather help them understand that no one is perfect. Teach them to correct their friends in love. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Help them not to become judgmental.

·         Friends nurture: Friends build each other up. We should teach our children to be a part of their friends’ support network, to encourage their friends and cheer them on. Let’s teach them to compliment others, not to be afraid of complimenting others, but to be the first to compliment their friends.

·         We can choose our friends: Let them know that friendship is a choice. They can choose who to be friends with, whoever makes them feel bad or inferior about themselves should be a friend. Friends should stir good feelings. Teach them not be friends with people because of what they have but because of who they are. They should watch out for character and values before becoming friends with people. This is because association has the power to influence. Let your children know that they will become more like the people they associate with. Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with the wise grow wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”

(Culled from GEM Woman Magazine)