One of our fundamental human needs is
connection. We can see this in our children from birth as they crave our warmth, touch, and love. As our children grow, their engagement in relationships evolves as well from parallel play with their toddler peers to collaborative imaginative play with their elementary-aged friends. Witnessing our children make friends and feel confident in their relationships is one of those parenting experiences that makes our hearts swell.
But sometimes we recognize that our children are in prickly friendships where their friend does not always treat them as we would hope, and our children begin to feel unsure and doubt themselves.
Kids are now heading back to school in person after a year of virtual learning. The usual challenge of navigating friendship ups and downs will be even harder. This has left many parents wondering how we can support our children and protect them from negative interactions and unbalanced friendships.
One way is to teach our children the
important skill of boundary setting. Research relates the ability to set and hold boundaries with better self-love, self-care, self-worth, and assertiveness!
Help kids handle tough issues with confidence with these complementary age-specific worksheets on healthy friendships and boundaries! Ideal for back to school prep, these worksheets make it easy to begin the conversation, especially as they offer the language to describe and define friendships and boundary setting. Pair these worksheets with a bonus coloring sheet, and kids are sure to have fun while learning how to set healthy boundaries with their peers.