Teaching Kids About Healthy Friendships and Boundaries

One of our fundamental human needs is connection. We can see this in our children from birth as they crave our warmth, touch, and love. As our children grow, their engagement in relationships evolves as well from parallel play with their toddler peers to collaborative imaginative play with their elementary-aged friends. Witnessing our children make friends and feel confident in their relationships is one of those parenting experiences that makes our hearts swell.

But sometimes we recognize that our children are in prickly friendships where their friend does not always treat them as we would hope, and our children begin to feel unsure and doubt themselves.

One way is to teach our children the important skill of boundary setting. Research relates the ability to set and hold boundaries with better self-love, self-care, self-worth, and assertiveness!

Help kids handle tough issues with confidence with these FREE age-specific worksheets on healthy friendships and boundaries. Pair these worksheets with a bonus coloring sheet, and kids are sure to have fun while learning how to set healthy boundaries with their peers.



Free Worksheets

The Not-So-Friendly Friend
The Not-So-Friendly Friend
Christina Furnival, a licensed mental health therapist and mom, helps answer these questions in this charming and engaging rhyming story about a young child who successfully navigates the complexities of an unkind peer relationship.

In The Not-So-Friendly Friend, children will learn an easy and practical lesson about how to firmly and assertively – yet kindly – stand up for themselves in the face of a bully. By teaching children about the importance and value of setting boundaries for healthy friendships, this book provides children the tools they need to foster their social confidence and emotional well-being.
Christina Furnival MS, LPCC

Christina Furnival, MS, LPCC, is a wife, mother of three, writer, author, and licensed mental health therapist. With over a decade of experience in the field, she is passionate about helping parents and children grow their skill sets, overcome challenges, and gain confidence to live happy, fulfilling lives. Her meaningful stories in the Capable Kiddos series serve as entertaining and enlightening resources to empower children and to make them feel capable of managing tough situations and their accompanying emotions. Visit her at ChristinaFurnival.com and on Instagram @CapableKiddosBooks.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Christina Furnival is the creator of and writer for Motherhood blog. She receives book royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Christina Furnival has no relevant non-financial relationships.
Let's Stay in Touch

Get exclusive discounts, new training announcements & more!

You May Also Be Interested In These Related Blog Posts
Kid Girl Emotional Turmoil Unfolds As Cries And Wipes Tear
Helping Kids with a Tricky, Sticky, Picky Brain: Free Checklist of Common OCD Symptoms in Children and Adolescents
Download this practical resource from "What to Do if You Have a Tricky, Sticky Picky Brain" to better support children and adolescents experiencing obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Little Boy Covering His Ears At ABA Therapy
Beyond Behaviors: A Story from the Frontlines of Therapy
Dr. Mona Delahooke shares the powerful moment that inspired her to write Beyond Behaviors, and how the book's compassionate, neuroscience-based approach is transforming how we understand and suppor...
Group Of Young People Addicted To Social Networks
4 Evidence-Based Clinical Interventions for Problematic Screen Use
Problematic screen use is reshaping childhood, fueling depression, anxiety, and isolation. Get evidence-based clinical strategies to help address digital overuse and support healthier development.
Cardboard Rocket (1)
Building Resilient Beliefs: A Brain-Boosting Practice for Kids
Dr. Kate Truitt offers a practical, brain-based approach to help children build resilient beliefs—empowering them with the mindset tools needed to cope with challenges and thrive.
Kid Girl Emotional Turmoil Unfolds As Cries And Wipes Tear
Helping Kids with a Tricky, Sticky, Picky Brain: Free Checklist of Common OCD Symptoms in Children and Adolescents
Download this practical resource from "What to Do if You Have a Tricky, Sticky Picky Brain" to better support children and adolescents experiencing obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Little Boy Covering His Ears At ABA Therapy
Beyond Behaviors: A Story from the Frontlines of Therapy
Dr. Mona Delahooke shares the powerful moment that inspired her to write Beyond Behaviors, and how the book's compassionate, neuroscience-based approach is transforming how we understand and suppor...
Group Of Young People Addicted To Social Networks
4 Evidence-Based Clinical Interventions for Problematic Screen Use
Problematic screen use is reshaping childhood, fueling depression, anxiety, and isolation. Get evidence-based clinical strategies to help address digital overuse and support healthier development.
Cardboard Rocket (1)
Building Resilient Beliefs: A Brain-Boosting Practice for Kids
Dr. Kate Truitt offers a practical, brain-based approach to help children build resilient beliefs—empowering them with the mindset tools needed to cope with challenges and thrive.