Friendship is Magic: Share your tips for helping children build lasting friendships with the My Little Pony: The Movie - chance to win £300 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

To help celebrate the brand new My Little Pony movie, the team behind the film would love to champion the beauty of friendship - and learn about the tips you have for helping children build lasting friendships with their school mates, neighbours and pals from clubs etc.

Do you gently suggest ways of making and keeping friends, encourage play dates to deepen friendships, or have other ways to guide them through the sometimes tricky path of childhood friends?

Here’s the movie synopsis

“A dark force threatens Ponyville, and the Mane 6 - Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity - embark on an unforgettable journey beyond Equestria where they meet new friends and exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic of friendship to save their home.

The film has an all-star voice cast including Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Liev Schreiber, Michael Peña, Sia, Taye Diggs, Uzo Aduba and Zoe Saldana. The movie features original music and songs performed by Sia, Diggs, Saldana, Chenoweth and Blunt."

Rated U

Add your comment to this thread and you will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will get a £300 John Lewis voucher.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

Standard Insight Terms and Conditions Apply

Play dates help a lot , it depends how old they are once your kids start growing up , give them some freedom x

I have always said be nice and kind to everyone even if you dont like the same things as them and be supportive

not to be discrimating to any children that look different ie clothing, hairstyles etc because underneath is what matters and try to encourage my children to be nice to all and treat others how they would want to be treated.

My tips:

Teach them about bodily autonomy and boundaries e.g. no means no, stop playing if someone is no longer having fun etc.;
Nurture inner self confidence and self respect;
Set an example yourself by having friendships with people from all different backgrounds;
Describe what a good friend is like;
Have a zero tolerance family policy on unkind behaviour and cliquey friendship "gangs";
Build strong sibling relationships from Day 1 as practice for friendships outside the family.

Always attend parties, playdates etc. At a young age it's not really about the kids, they'll be friends with everyone when they start school, they don't see differences or strangeness, they'll play with everyone. It's the parents I think, certain kids not being invited to parties or playdates, the parents are the ones causing the divide when they're that young, not the kids. Just keep encouraging kindness and understanding that we're all different but we're the same etc

I tell my daughters to be kind to others and listen to what they have to say but also tell them that a friendship goes both ways, that their friends also need to do the same.

We struggle with DS's (almost 3) interactions with other children as he is currently undergoing diagnosis for ASD and is almost completely non-verbal. We encourage sharing and kind playing with other children and his keyworkers at nursery do the same. He's a very loving boy and is loved by his friends at nursery who are very protective of him but sometimes he does need to be reminded that other children want to play too and he can't play with the most popular toy in the room for 8 hours straight!

Empathy, understanding, and owning your own feelings- good and bad. Teaching her that you are allowed to have negative emotions, that you don’t have to like everyone, but to treat everyone how you want to be treated- with respect and understanding. And to talk about your feelings, good and bad and to feel comfortable doing so.

Teaching them not to accept bad behaviour from 'friends', that someone is not your friend just because the teacher has said 'we are all friends' and when people are mean to you it is ok to say they are not your friends and you don't have to just accept the behaviour. My oldest DC was caught up in a really unhealthy friendship group where my child was the scapegoat, mostly disliked by the group, but the teacher told them they were all friends every time there was an incident, which left my DC very confused. I have had to talk about friends needing to show they are friends not just say it.

I think talking to your kids about how other people might feel can help with friendships in lots of ways. They don't always see other perspectives and it can help them to stop and think!

Organising play dates, being a role model and showing my child how i treat other people despite our differences.

For me it's about setting examples of what constitutes a positive friendship between me and my own friends rather than trying to influence his friendships too much so that hopefully he can make decisions that lead to good friendships: making an effort at keeping in touch, not bailing out on dates for silly reasons, being honest and being a good listener but also standing up for myself if I'm not happy about something and not being afraid to walk away from negative people.

Play dates - I don't enjoy them as such and no way do I have the time, but it really helps the friendships so I always make the effort. Sometimes there's a sense that the other child's parent isn't supporting the friendship, and it's always much easier to build a friendship where the other parent is interested too not only intent on pursuing the friendships they want for their child (meaning their own friends'DC)
If a friend isn't being kind I talk to the DC, and try to help them work out for themselves if it's something v bad or something forgivable. With my DD at one time her friendship group had minor squabbles and she worked out it was nothing, whereas with DS he was v badly treated by a supposed good friend and he decided himself to steer clear of the other child.
Being available for them to talk about any issues is b helpful.

Play dates and making it easy for them to meet up casually. Don't be the mum who can't have anyone over because the house isn't spotless. Set an example of being positive about social meetups.

Encourage them to talk and listen

I take them to different places and to do different activities so they meet a range of different children. I think this teaches them tolerance and were all individuals. In turn, I think this makes it easier for them to be more empathetic and form friendships

We have bought a book on tricky friendships and work through all the different scenarios. Learn to build confidence in being oneself and not everyone is the same. Learning to stand up for others. And saying no to "secret clubs" like friendship bracelets that include some and not others. And crucially - understanding we all need friends in life. And friends don't like being hurt.

Saw the film yesterday and the kids really loved it - they have already requested it as a Christmas DVD.

With the younger children it's mostly about encouraging time together through play dates etc and then helping them to understand kindness, sharing and other peoples points of view through play like board games and role play (and hooning about shouting).

For older children I find its more about impressing respectful communication and loyalty. Their friendships are conducted on line so much that I find limiting them to specific forums and monitoring them so you can help them through the enevitable falling a out that they have.

Being a role model. Validating emotions, both positive and negative. Helping them to wonder about and imagine others’ points of view.

Play dates yes, but always mentioning ways of keeping friends and preventing any bullying which is so common these days even amongst children.

I'll sometimes even do role-plays to act out good friendship attributes.

My son is in a friendship triangle, where all 3 get on REALLY well. But I think it's important that they spend time in pairs, as well as the 3 so they can really strengthen their bonds. But of course they all hang out together too.

We meet up at the park, and have play dates, we even go to theme parks together. Even having them over for dinner can be a great way for them to build on their friendships.

Being a role model with my own friends so my Son can see what a healthy and mutually respectful relationship should look like. Then inviting his friends for tea etc!

I've taught my child to have a positive attitude, by discussing things with her, it helped boost her confidence when it comes to interacting with other children

I encourage my children to make friends outside of school, so neighbours, children at their clubs / activities. I always suggest we can ask a friend along to the park with us and depending on work commitments, play dates after school.

As a foster family 'friendships' can be a highly emotive subject and promoting safe and positive experiences is paramount. My home-grown children are amazing at setting an example and offering an olive branch. We learn forgive and move on from many situations, we promote not holding grudges and look for the good and the positives. We have many days out and always invite as many as we can.