«The favourite children are the ones who can play well»

Leon, can you tell us something about your friends?

Valentin is my best friend and Lena is my best friend. I already know Lena from nursery. Then we started nursery together and at school she sat next to me at the beginning. But the teacher put us apart because she thought we were chatting too much. My dad is friends with Valentin's dad. They always go fishing together and I often go with them. Once, Valentin was allowed to join us and we played whistle ball together by the water. We've been friends ever since.

The boys sometimes think it's stupid and laugh when you're friends with a girl. But we just ignore it.

What do you particularly like about Lena and Valentin?

With Valentin, that he is almost the same age as me and that he likes almost all the games that I like. Our favourite games are Whistling Ball or Monopoly, but in a funny way. Once we took all the money out of the game box and said: you can buy anything now, including the pieces on the board. That's been our game ever since.

We also like to swap toy cars. Valentin and I always have to negotiate quite a bit about which car is worth more, but in the end we usually make a fair swap. What I like most about Lena is that she sometimes plays with boys' things. We ride bikes together or go to the swimming pool together.

So Lena and Valentin are your best friends. Are there any differences in the friendships between two girls, two boys or boy and girl?

There are differences. At home, the girls tend to play with dolls and the boys with Lego or cars. At school, the others sometimes think it's stupid if you're friends with girls. Then they laugh at you and make stupid comments. But we just ignore it and then they usually stop. Now Lena usually plays with the girls at school and I play with the boys, sometimes we play together. We tend to do things together at home in the afternoon.

I intervene when other children tease my friends.

What do you do to be a good friend?

I intervene when other people annoy my friends. In winter, we had huge piles of snow in front of the school. Lena and I climbed up, but a few boys from my class wanted to pull Lena down and threw snowballs at her. Then I stood in front of them and told them to stop.

What do you have to do to make someone a friend?

You just have to play together. If you don't know the children, you can also go up and ask: «Can I please play with you?» The favourite kids at my school are the ones who can play well and aren't annoying.

What can parents do to help their children make friends?

Hmm ... So in my case, for example, they allow Lena to come to me. We usually do something at school and ask our mums if it's okay. Or that Dad takes me fishing or swimming where there are other children. And that I can go to the neighbour's children's house at the weekend.