How can you tell they’ve got it: Friendships change over time?

If they’ve got it, you’ll see things like: Explain that friendships changing is normal and doesn't mean something is wrong; Describe a strategy for making new friends, such as joining a club or inviting someone to play; Talk about a friendship that changed and how they handled it. Or just try it together: If your child's best friend starts spending more time with someone else, can they handle it without falling apart — understanding that friendships shift and they can make new friends too?

Personal & Social Development Friendship & Cooperation Ages 7–9

Friendships change over time

Your child knows that friendships can change. Friends may become less close, and new ones form. That is normal, not a sign something is wrong.

In curriculum terms

Understand that friendships change over time — that it's normal for friends to drift apart or for new friendships to form — and develop strategies for making new friends and handling friendship changes without feeling like something is wrong with them

Ages are typical, not deadlines — follow your child’s pace. How to help at home →

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

Explain that friendships changing is normal and doesn't mean something is wrong
Describe a strategy for making new friends, such as joining a club or inviting someone to play
Talk about a friendship that changed and how they handled it

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Try this together

If your child's best friend starts spending more time with someone else, can they handle it without falling apart — understanding that friendships shift and they can make new friends too?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Makes someone a good friendages 5–7Understanding friendship changes builds on knowing what makes a good friend

Resolving Disagreements with Friendsages 7–9Navigating friendship changes benefits from conflict resolution skills

Friendships change over timethis skill · ages 7–9

Unlocks

Nothing on the map depends on this yet.

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Where this fits in the official school curriculum — our best automated guess, not yet checked by a person.

Show candidate curriculum codes · 1 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

This skill sits outside the F–6 Australian Curriculum — no candidate code matched (v0.1).

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2HP4P02low confidenceHealth and Physical Education · Levels 3 and 4 · Personal, Social and Community Health – Health Education strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Communication Vocabularyages 7–11 Resolving Disagreements with Friendsages 7–9 Roles in a Groupages 7–9 Working Well in a Groupages 7–9

All Friendship & Cooperation skills →