

That’s What Friends Are For: The Beginnings of Friendship in Early Childhood
“You’re not coming to my birthday party!” In the world of three year olds, this is the ultimate threat. In my time in the classroom, I heard children throw this phrase around almost daily. It was prompted by a broken block structure, an unwillingness to share, a disagreement over what to play, or a myriad of other seemingly-trivial issues. The hurt child was making a point the way he or she knew how: “I am angry with you!” Amazingly, the argument almost never lasted more than