What are Peers and Cliques?

Posted by Denise Oliveri Sep 23, 2007

Peers are all of the kids in a particular age group. Peers are often thought of as friends that you associate with in school and other organizations. Cliques are when 2 to 12 peers form groups that are hard to enter once the group is established. They are usually friends that have common characteristics, such as a sense for fashion (and parents who can afford their sense of fashion), jocks, brainiacs, etc. There are some tweens that never fall into a clique, but still manage to have close friends (their peers).

If you are looking for ways to keep your child out of the "clique" scene and encourage a welcoming attitude to all peers, here are a few suggestions that I found particularly helpful:

• Teach your child to treat others as they want to be treated.
• Teach your tween to think about the feelings involved with kids who do not have friends, and vow to be the person who will make friends with them.
• Discuss with your child ways to be someone dependable and accountable.
• Explain to your child that they must respect others culture and background, if different from theirs, and accept who they are on the surface.
• Tell your tween to enjoy the company of others with worrying about what others think about your friendship.

As I said, these are suggestions that I have found helpful. You may already have a list of your own, and that is great! Repetition is the best way for your tween to develop the habits needed to be a good friend.

Have a great week!