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The Role of Friends and Peers on Social and Emotional Development

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Submitted By chriscollier1192
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It’s safe to say everyone wants a life similar to the ones of the characters on the popular television series Friends – close friends living together in the big city, enjoying life and experiencing the many new stages that come along with it. While a lifestyle similar to that is probable in our daily lives, one must realize the crucial effect childhood friendships have on their adult life and to their mind’s social and emotional development. In layman’s terms, without close friendships growing up, it is nearly impossible for an adult to obtain and flourish intimate friendships similar to those found on Friends. It is important for children to have interpersonal relationships with their peers so that they can develop emotional compatibility, volunteer intimacy with another person, and discover the significance of empathy and sympathy.
The first reason friendships are crucial among children is because it allows them to develop and share emotional compatibility. It is difficult for a teenager to identify with a young child in the same way that it is difficult for an adult to relate with a teenager; differences in knowledge, maturity, and life experience create a hindrance, a hypothetical brick wall, between the two people that leads to a lack of emotional compatibility. However, when children of the same age interact with one another, they have mutual feelings, which allow them to effortlessly understand one another’s reality. While they might not sit around and have in-depth discussions on the topics, there are certain “unsaid rules” and emotions that children of similar age seem to recognize. The similarities shared between one another allow for an improved understanding that contributes to healthy emotional development.
For example, take a look at a group of pubescent boys. Although they do not like to admit it, boys of that age are experiencing a lot of new

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