3 Social Skills That Help Children Build Strong and Positive Peer Relationships

How Can You Help Your Child Build Strong and Positive Peer Relationships?

A peer is someone similar in age, background, or interests. Peers can be classmates, neighbourhood friends, or even teammates in a sports club. How children interact with their peers significantly influences their social and emotional growth.

Positive peers are friends who encourage and support one another. They help each other grow emotionally, socially, and academically. Positive peer relationships involve kindness, respect, and mutual support. Children who surround themselves with positive peers are more likely to develop strong self-esteem and healthy communication skills.

Not all peer relationships are beneficial. Negative peer influences can lead to:

• Increased aggression and conflicts.
• Risky behaviours such as dishonesty or peer pressure to make poor choices.
• Lower self-esteem and feelings of rejection.
• Social isolation or exclusion from groups.

As parents, it is important to guide children toward recognizing healthy friendships and distancing themselves from toxic influences.

Healthy peer relationships help children:

• Develop a sense of belonging and security.
• Improve emotional regulation and empathy.
• Build confidence in social settings.
• Enhance communication and teamwork skills.

Building strong and positive peer relationships is essential for a child’s emotional well-being and social success. Parents play a key role in nurturing these social skills at home. By creating a supportive environment and modelling healthy interactions, you help your child develop meaningful friendships. Here are the three most important social skills that foster positive peer relationships:

1. Empathy and Understanding

Empathy helps children build deeper connections by allowing them to see the world from another person’s perspective. Teaching empathy can start at home with simple, engaging activities:

• “How Would You Feel?” Game: Share different social situations with your child (e.g., “Your friend lost their toy—how do they feel?”) and encourage them to express their thoughts. This helps children develop empathy by putting themselves in someone else’s shoes, strengthening their ability to understand and respond to emotions in social situations.
• Story-Based Discussions: Read books that showcase different emotions and discuss how characters might be feeling. This practice enhances emotional literacy and helps children recognize emotions in real-life interactions, making them more aware and responsive to their peers’ feelings.
• Mirror Emotions: Play a facial expression game where you express an emotion and your child guesses how you’re feeling. This strengthens non-verbal communication skills, helping children read body language and facial cues, which are essential for understanding others in social settings.

When children develop empathy, they naturally become better at forming deep, meaningful friendships based on trust and care.

2. Conflict Resolution

Conflicts are a normal part of relationships, and teaching children how to manage them calmly is an essential life skill. Support your child in resolving conflicts constructively by encouraging these approaches:

are a natural part of relationships, 

• “I” Statements Practice: Teach your child to express their feelings using “I” statements, e.g., “I feel upset when you take my toy without asking.”
• Role-Playing Conflicts: Create pretend conflict situations and guide your child in resolving them peacefully.
• The “Stop, Breathe, Talk” Method: Encourage children to stop before reacting, take deep breaths, and then talk through the issue with a calm mind.

These exercises help children develop patience, negotiation skills, and resilience in their friendships.

3. Expressing Feelings Clearly

Children need to feel comfortable expressing their emotions openly and respectfully. When they can name and articulate their emotions, they are less likely to experience frustration or misunderstandings. Try these activities to enhance emotional expression:

• Emotion Charades: Act out different emotions and have your child guess what they are.
• Feelings Journal: Encourage your child to keep a simple journal where they write or draw how they feel each day.
• Storytelling with Emotion Cards: Use emotion flashcards and ask your child to create a short story using different feelings.

The more children practice expressing their feelings, the more confident they become in social interactions, reducing conflicts and fostering stronger friendships.

If your child struggles with social interactions, consider seeking guidance from a counsellor. Social skills counselling helps children navigate friendships, manage emotions, and build confidence in peer interactions. A structured approach, like NGN Learning’s SEEL framework, ensures children receive the right support to thrive socially and emotionally.

You might consider professional support if your child:

• Struggles to make or keep friends.
• Frequently gets into conflicts without resolving them.
• Has difficulty understanding others’ emotions.
• Avoids social interactions or feels anxious in group settings.

A child counsellor can provide personalized strategies to improve social skills in a supportive and non-judgmental environment.