Cleveland Jewish News
Sept. 12, 2018
Having friends is an important aspect of emotional and mental development.
Barbara Streeter, education director at Hanna Perkins School in Shaker Heights, and Becca Ucker, Montessori pre-primary director at The Lillian and Betty Ratner School in Pepper Pike, said making friends at a young age helps produce well-rounded individuals.
“Developmentally, preschoolers are ready to move beyond the egocentricity of toddlerhood and discover that the world is not only about ‘me and my family,’” Streeter said. “Being exposed to peers gives children the impetus to try out things they see other children do, helps them realize that others have feelings like they do and introduces them to the pleasure that can be obtained in having a friend. All this helps take the first developmental steps from egocentricity to companionship.”
READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE at the Cleveland Jewish News.
SEP
2018
About the Author:
Bob Rosenbaum manages the website and other communications functions for Hanna Perkins Center.