How Toddlers `do' Friendship: A Descriptive Analysis of Naturally Occurring Friendships in a Group Child Care Setting

Abstract

Researchers examining friendship between peers often begin to study children during the preschool years. While research has indicated that toddlers interact with peers, very little is known about how they negotiate friendships. This study uses qualitative methodology to examine how a group of toddler friends interact with each other-how they `do' friendship. Children were videotaped as they went about their daily interactions in a mixed-age, infant-toddler child care setting. Data were collected over a 10-month period, resulting in 200 hours of videotape. Interaction between four toddler friendship dyads (age 22-36 months) were coded using dimensions of friendship as used by Rizzo (1989). Results indicate that five of eight coded dimensions are present in these toddler friendships. Further, results suggest that toddlers engage in much more complex relationships than has been previously indicated. A developmental theory of friendship is presented.

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