Best Friend Day

When I was growing up, my best friend was a girl named Alison, and she lived two houses from mine. We played together a lot, but not all the time. Sometimes we fought. Sometimes I thought the world would end if we did not have the same teacher at school but somehow we survived when we did not. She was someone I could be sad or silly with. And often she gave me the courage I needed to try new things.

I am a lot older now but my friendships are still very important to me. And even though I do not have the same amount of time I used to, since becoming a parent, to just to hang out with friends - I value their understanding, their wisdom, and the time we do find to share together whether we are feeling sad or silly.

Watching my kids develop their own relationships with other people is fascinating. At first they only wanted me, and then they expanded their circle to include my husband and our extended family. Each boy’s awareness then moved beyond his child-centered play to include his twin brother and then to encompass peers. I love to watch them with their friends-to see their joy when they share a favorite activity together or when they just share a silly joke. When they are sad or hurt because a friend chooses not to play with them, my tendency is to shield my boys from this pain but I remind myself this is just another part of growing up.

Here are some good friendship books to share with your kids. Click on comments below to share your favorites:

Toot & Puddle by Holly Hobbie
Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel
That’s What a Friend Is by P. K. Hallinan
Winnie the Pooh, by A. A. Milne.

Category: books / stories