Date/Time
Date(s) - 05/12/2015
11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Location
Boston Children's Museum
“Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Friendship Development,Popularity, and Social Cruelty in Childhood”
Featuring Dr. Michael Thompson
In this presentation, Dr. Thompson will speak about the complex social world of childhood and address questions, including: What do social relationships in school predict about happiness in adult life? What is the normal sequence of child friendships, from the parallel play of the two-year-old to the intimate self-disclosure of the adolescent? Why do cliques form and what are the differences between boy and girl groups? Why are children scapegoated and how can their parents and school protect them? Dr. Thompson will draw on research to highlight the differences between friendship and popularity. He will make suggestions about the management of social problems in schools and make the case that while all children yearn for popularity, it is friendship that helps children survive and thrive.
Social cruelty among kids is one of the most difficult things that adults have to confront in raising and educating children. About Dr. Thompson’s Book Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children Publishers Weekly review declared, “Not since Dr. Spock and Penelope Leach has there been such a sensitive and practical guide to raising healthy children.”
This Lunch & Learn will combine a lecture with ample time for participatory discussion.
$25 per person with lunch included.
$45 per person with lunch included, plus a copy of Dr. Thompson’s Book: Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children
