Friendships are crucial to helping shape a child’s social and emotional development, sense of empathy, communication skills and self-confidence. Working towards positive relationships also contributes to achieving several EYLF outcomes. This goes to show friendships aren’t just having someone to play with every day – they help to meet the all-important outcomes that you work hard to achieve through your teachings. Happy children make a happy environment, helping the emotional wellbeing of everyone involved. So, how can you guide the children in your early learning environment to form meaningful relationships that will help them enjoy their days with you? Is ‘show and tell’ a regular event in your early learning environment? ‘Show and tell’ is a great way to encourage children to share their interests and experiences, which allows them to be their true selves around their peers. This works contributes to achieving Learning Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world. By feeling a sense of connectedness with their world, children feel confident within themselves, giving them the opportunity to make friends and show their peers their true selves.

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