When I was a ‘tween and teenager, I had two best friends. The three of us were our own little clique — inseparable and bonded in a sisterly way. Having two best friends instead of one caused some problems, sure, because there was often a tension between who was closest to whom, but generally, it worked. We were the Three Musketeers. We were Huey, Dewey and Louie. We sat in the same place in the hallway of our middle- and high-school, we helped each other with homework, we had sleepovers and weekend adventures our albums are now filled with photos from confirmations to graduations to weddings.
As an adult, however, I’m blessed to have expanded that friendship circle to at least six women (not to mention a husband) with whom I confide my deepest, darkest secrets and joys. Which is better? A New York Times article on whether the “best friend” is something to be discouraged among children grabbed my attention.
While kids want a best friend, their helicopter parents and well-meaning educators are concerned that socializing as a pack might provide more emotional support, especially when emotions run high. Writes Hilary Stout:
Most children naturally seek close friends. In a survey of nearly 3,000 Americans ages 8 to 24 conducted last year by Harris Interactive, 94 percent said they had at least one close friend. But the classic best-friend bond – the two special pals who share secrets and exploits, who gravitate to each other on the playground and who head out the door together every day after school – signals potential trouble for school officials intent on discouraging anything that hints of exclusivity, in part because of concerns about cliques and bullying.
“I think it is kids’ preference to pair up and have that one best friend. As adults – teachers and counselors – we try to encourage them not to do that,” said Christine Laycob, director of counseling at Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School in St. Louis. “We try to talk to kids and work with them to get them to have big groups of friends and not be so possessive about friends.”
“Parents sometimes say Johnny needs that one special friend,” she continued. “We say he doesn’t need a best friend.”
I disagree. Forming a strong bond with one or two friends is an instructive experience for children. It teaches them how to share personal elements of their lives, how to trust and what it feels like when that trust is betrayed. It teaches kids the basics of committed relationships, of consequences and honesty. Sure, parents might worry about whether a friend is a “good influence” or not – and research on the contagiousness of behavior supports that this, indeed, is a valid concern – but to try to re-engineer our children’s friendships is not only taking adult supervision of childhood a step too far, it also might undermine the ability of a generation to have deep bonding with another person as adults.
And I’ve got two best friends who will back me up on this, I bet.
