Tag Archives: social development

Balancing One-on-One with Group Socializing

Helping and guiding our children as they develop social skills is just one of the many challenges of parenting. Most of us want our children to have friends and an active social life, but we want to keep things in perspective too—and help our children learn how to keep things in balance. One area where we can help our children learn to maneuver in the social realm is in balancing out one-on-one friendships and social activities with group socializing. One-on-one socializing or establishing and maintaining those close and intimate friendships is an important part of life. It is also an … Continue reading →

When Siblings Have Shared Friends

If your children are like mine and they are close together in age, one of the “bonuses” is that they may very well move in the same social circles and interact with some of the same peer group. Some kids really like this, while others may want to have their very own friends that they don’t have to share. In my own family, we have been through “stages”—there was a period around the middle school years where my kids really needed to separate and carve out their own identities and this meant having their own friends too. Overall, however, there … Continue reading →