Skip to main content
FamilyEducation
FamilyEducation
Family Education

FE-Menu

  • Pregnancy
    • <blank>
      • Pregnancy Tracker
      • Trying to Conceive
      • Signs & Symptoms
      • Pregnancy Health
    • <blank>
      • Baby Names
      • High Risk Pregnancies
      • Preparing for Baby
    • <blank>
      • Concerns & Complications
      • Labor & Delivery
      • Postpartum
  • Baby Names
    • <blank>
      • Browse All Baby Names (A-Z)
      • Top Names for Boys
      • Top Names for Girls
      • Baby Name Generator
    • <blank>
      • Baby Name Lists & Ideas
      • First Names By Origin
      • Browse All Last Names (A-Z)
      • Last Names by Origin
  • Babies
    • <blank>
      • Caring For Your Baby
      • Baby's Health
      • Feeding Your Baby
    • <blank>
      • Your Baby and Sleep
      • Baby's Growth & Development
      • Baby Hygiene
    • <blank>
      • Baby Safety
      • Baby Products
    • <blank>
  • Toddlers
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Growth and Development
    • <blank>
      • Toddler Behavior and Discipline
    • <blank>
      • Your Toddler and Sleep
  • Kids
    • <blank>
      • Health
      • Childhood Development
      • Fitness & Nutrition
      • Childhood Safety
    • <blank>
      • Communicating with Your Kids
      • Childhood Behavior and Discipline
      • Fostering Responsibility
      • Instilling Values & Manners
    • <blank>
      • Childcare
      • Neurodiversity in Kids
      • Adopting Children
  • Teens
    • <blank>
      • Teen Health
      • Teen Puberty & Sex
    • <blank>
      • Behavior & Discipline
      • Teen Social Development
    • <blank>
      • Values & Responsibilities
  • Activities
    • <blank>
      • Printables
      • Indoor Activities
      • Learning Activities
      • Arts and Crafts
      • Performing Arts
      • Food Activities
      • Outdoor Activities
    • <blank>
      • Books
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Online
      • Quizzes
      • Games
      • Celebrities
    • <blank>
      • Parties
      • Travel
      • Toys
      • Holidays
      • Gifts
  • Learning
    • <blank>
      • By Grade
      • By Subject
      • College
      • Preschool
    • <blank>
      • Back to School
      • Study Skills
      • Learning Styles
    • <blank>
      • Homeschooling
      • Parental Involvement
      • Your Child's School
  • Family Life
    • <blank>
      • Mom Life
      • Dad Life
      • Family Relationships
      • Having a Healthy Marriage
      • Divorce
    • <blank>
      • Health & Fitness
      • COVID Resources
      • Managing Your Home
      • Moving Your Family
      • Pets
    • <blank>
      • Family Finances
      • Work
      • Families and Food
  • NewslettersNewsletters
    Newsletters

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. School and Learning
  3. Preschool
  4. Preschool Cliques

Preschool Cliques

Read how you and the preschool teacher can help overcome the problem of cliques among preschoolers.
  • facebook share icon
  • pin
  • twitter share icon
  • email share icon
  • Print page icon

Preschool Cliques

Believe it or not, cliques begin to form even during the preschool years. The age at which your child begins including other children in her play is also, unfortunately, the age at which children begin excluding others from play. "You can't play here. Christina and I are playing and you can't play." If you overhear these painful comments, try to help the cliquish children find a role for the excluded child in their play. You might say something like, "Looks like you two need a real live patient. Oh, here's one. What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Cliques may sometimes make it difficult for your three-year-old to make friends in preschool. If your child feels rejected or friendless in preschool, first ask the teacher about your child's behavior in the group. Your child may be grabbing, hitting, kicking, biting, or behaving selfishly: All good reasons for judgmental three-year-olds to avoid her. If the problem instead seems to be caused by your child's shyness, ask your preschool teacher to help. Preschool teachers and day-care providers can adopt a number of different strategies that can help your child fit in with other kids. The teacher may choose to:

Q-tip

You can help your child make friends at daycare, too. Arrange several playdates outside of the daycare setting. Your child may feel more comfortable getting to know her classmates one-on-one.

  • Help get your three-year-old accepted by one of the cliques in the day-care group.
  • "Pair your child up" with another preschooler who is more outgoing, friendly, and popular. This raises your three-year-old's social standing in the group. (Sad but true, social status does exist even in preschool.)
  • Pair up your child with a younger child. This increases your child's confidence, self-esteem, and assertiveness without putting any pressure on her to fit in with other kids her age. This may in turn boost her social skills among her peers.
  • Assign your child important and helpful duties such as passing out napkins at snack- or lunchtime. Classroom responsibilities will simultaneously increase your child's self-assurance and boost her social standing.
  • Break the group into smaller groups. Your child will find smaller groups of children less intimidating. In addition, small groups will almost force her to take part in social activities, because it's harder to fade into the background when you're not in a crowd.
  • Suggest moving your child from a large day-care situation into family day care or a smaller class (for the same reasons mentioned earlier).

What's hot

  • MoneyinHands School and LearningTop 10 Graduation Gifts
  • 8 Printable Thank-You Cards for Teacher Appreciation Week School and Learning8 Printable Thank-You Cards…
  • 5-Year-Old Write Backward School and LearningI Need Help! My Five-Year-Old…
  • "Thanks, Teacher!" Card Kids Can Color School and Learning"Thanks, Teacher!"…
NewslettersNewsletters
Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.
Family Education
FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Your use of the site indicates your agreement to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Information on our advertising guidelines can be found here.

FE Footer

  • Newsletter Center
  • About Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • Editorial Team
  • Expert Panel
  • Cookie Policy
  • Site Map
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info (for CA Residents)
sandbox learning logo
Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. 

factmonster logoinfoplease logoTeacherVision logo

sandbbox logo
©2022 Sandbox Networks Inc. All rights reserved. Sandbox Learning is part of Sandbox & Co., a digital learning company.