Chapter 8: Friendships in Very Young Children

In this chapter, we explore the evidence for the existence of friendships in very young children across diverse times, places, and childrearing contexts. Although it is commonly accepted that three-or four-year-old children have friendships (e.g., Corsaro, 1985; Gottman, 1983; Rubin, 1980), there has been much less unanimity about whether young children close to their second birthdays could be friends, not just playmates. For example, in a chapter that reviewed the literature on childhood friendships, Furman (1982) denied the possibility of toddler friendships, stating, “Unlike toddlers, preschool children can be said to have friends” (p. 329). Other scholars are more tentative, and while acknowledging the existence of peer interactions in very young children, they appear to be uncomfortable with the term friendship for this age-group. In a chapter on the behavioral manifestations of children’s friendships, Hartup (1989) noted the following: