Explain How The Nature Of Children's Friendship Change With Age

How does the nature of children's friendship change with age?

Within this essay I will be looking at how children's friendships change in nature as they age. I will begin first by defining what is meant by the term friendship. I will then examine theories on stage and age development in relation to the development of friendships, exploring research which suggests that the nature of a child's friendship is based on their age. I will look at conflicting research which suggests that although stage's of friendship may be categorized, that there is conflicting research to suggest the ages at which this behaviour manifests itself may not be the same for each child. Finally I will summarize by concluding how the nature of children's friendship
A dictionary definition defines friendship as an attachment from mutual esteem, and a friend as someone who is loving or attached to another. As an adult it can seem easy to define who are friends are, they are like minded individuals whom we share common interests with, people we trust and socialize with. Other people within our adult life are associates, work colleagues or general acquaintances. The category of friend is reserved for those whom we have developed a bond with and in most cases an emotional attachment to. However, when we consider this in relation to the nature of children's friendship this dictionary definition and an adults view of friendship may not hold true for all children. It also over simplifies the nature and dynamics involved in friendship. Barnes (2003, pg 49) highlights this when he discusses the many experiences children have of friendship, and the emotions and experiences these friendships expose children to, for example it affords them the opportunity to share experiences, develop communication and develop a sense of closeness to another person, however in contrast to this Barnes tells us that friendships in childhood introduces children to a to conflict situations and emotions such as jealousy, anger and loneliness. Best to leave a line space between
Bigelow and La Gaipa argued that the changing nature of friendship developed alongside children's cognitive development. That is to say as children develop their cognitive understanding and have experiences of social interaction and the nature of their friendships develop and this can be categorized in general terms into particular ages. Barnes uses Zick Rubin, an American psychologist, to illustrate this staging theory, “Rubin (1980) likens this to climbing a ladder and resting at each rung in order to consolidate the new level of interpersonal awareness that has been achieved” (Barnes,2003, cited in Kehily and Swann). This categorization of stage development is not a new concept in the 1950's and 1960's Jean Piaget a Swiss psychologist through years of research developed theories regarding child development and the stages which children will act in a certain way based on their cognitive development, however “Increasingly psychologists have adopted a 'lifespan perspective' which recognizes that development is a process that continues from birth to death......the end of childhood, as well as the beginning