According to the responses of over 2,000 parents with kids under the age of 16, the top 10 traits parents would most like to see in their kids’ friendships, include kindness, generosity and empathy with other traits such as being ambitious, sporty and academic coming much further down the list. Two thirds of parents are keen for their children to hang out with kids who work hard at school and three in 10 like those who take their homework seriously, while six in 10 are happy if their children’s friends do well at sports day and take part in extracurricular sporting activities. Puffin commissioned the study to celebrate the launch of Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid. Bestselling author Jeff Kinney said: “This survey shows that parents in the UK want their kids to have kind, empathetic friends.”
Only one in five parents feel strongly that their child should have one very best friend, preferring their child to have a wider friendship circle instead. Almost six in 10 parents admit they make more of an effort with the friends of their children they like, than those they don’t. Overall parents want their kids to have a total of eight good friends – who are kind, helpful, funny and hardworking.
TOP 10 TRAITS PARENTS WANT THEIR CHILDREN’S FRIENDS TO HAVE:
1. Kind
2. Helpful
3. Funny
4. Hard working
5. Generous
6. Empathetic
7. Confident
8. Protective
9. Take their homework seriously
10. Clever