As students settle into their classrooms this school year, forming new friendships and strengthening connections with staff, educators, and peers remains the cornerstone of student learning and well-being. Strong relationships foster a deep sense of belonging, empowering students to grow, explore, and succeed academically and personally.
"Positive relationships in childhood are essential to healthy development. They influence how young people understand themselves, build resilience, and engage with their communities" (Canadian Paediatric Society, 2021).
Practical Ways Families Can Build Relationship Skills
Families and caregivers can support children and youth in developing healthy relationship habits with these practical steps:
Encourage Open Emotional Expression: Share a personal experience of feeling a strong emotion and invite your child to share theirs. With teens, acknowledge their feelings and normalize experiencing a wide range of emotions.
Respect Feelings Without Immediate "Fixes": Allow children or teens to sit with their emotions rather than immediately offering solutions, showing that their feelings are valid and worth exploring.
Promote Perspective-Taking and Empathy: For younger children, draw pictures of different emotions and discuss what might cause them. For teens, discuss how a friend might feel in a given situation to build empathy.
Conversation Starters & Shared Activities
Try these engaging reflection prompts and shared activities with your child or youth:
What does connection look, sound, or feel like in our daily lives?
What does it mean to be connected to ourselves, others, and our environment?
How do personal experiences and identities shape the way we build relationships?
Which daily habits or actions help us strengthen bonds with family, friends, and ourselves?
Activities to Try Together:
Outdoor Connection: Head out for a walk, bike ride, or outdoor activity together to foster both physical movement and conversation.
Circle of Support Map: Create a visual map with your child listing trusted adults across home, school, and the community.
The Science of Social Connection: Did you know?
Research shows that strong social connections can reduce stress, improve mental health, and even boost immune function. Acts of kindness benefit not only the receiver but also the giver, enhancing well-being and reinforcing positivity and resilience (American Psychological Association, 2019).
Supporting children and youth is a shared responsibility between families, caregivers, and schools. Working together creates inclusive, vibrant school communities where every learner can thrive.
-The Wellness Works Committee
References
American Psychological Association. (2019). The power of social connection. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2019/11/cover-social-connection
Canadian Paediatric Society. (2021). Building resilience in children and youth. https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/building-resilience