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Socialization begins in early infancy when babies cry, smile, and coo at their caregivers. Friendship naturally evolves from these early expressions. It evolves so naturally that adults don t always take time to explain the concept to children until they have their first fight or friend breakup. Giving [friendship] a label early on [gives] kids.a greater.understanding of themselves and their peers, says Molly O Shea, M.D., a pediatrician for Goldfish Swim School in Bloomfield Township, Michigan.
Adults can start talking about friendship with children as early as 9 months, and realistically, children will begin to better understand what a friend is as they start having more peer-to-peer interaction around 2 or 3 years old.