Some parents worry that their child does not have a best friend and some parents worry that their child has an exclusive friendship with just one person. Should we really be worrying about the amount of friends our child has? Isn’t it more important that they are happy with the amount of friends?

Of course, there are some children who naturally seek out a best friend. They like to have someone that they can share secrets and experiences and like to spend all their time with. They feel comfortable with that person and know that they can trust them. The downside to this is that your child may rely too heavily on that friend to be everything to them. If their best friend was not at school or the friendship br0ke down what would your child do?

Then there are the children who like to have lots of friends. They like to be able to pick and choose who they play with depending on what they feel like doing or the way they are feeling. They don’t feel the need to have a best friend. If one of their friends was not at school they would have plenty of others to play with. That is definitely a positive to having lots of friends. Is there a negative though? Would you want them to have a special person to confide in, someone close who they can always rely on to be there for them? If your child has lots of friends then I am sure there would be one of them they would be happy to confide in.

What do you think about best friends? Would you prefer it if your child had one and perhaps have a group of friends too? Maybe that would give them the best of both worlds.