Healthy relationships are built on a foundation of trust involving communication, respect, and supportiveness. In balanced friendships, friends will respect your boundaries and feelings and will encourage you rather than put you down. Friendships, however, may involve conflict, and this does not mean that friends will always part ways. Our kids also must be taught how to resolve conflict in a healthy way:

• Set boundaries – establish what is acceptable and what is not

• Identify the “real” issue – sometimes there are underlying reasons an argument has occurred; what is the “real” issue at hand

•  Agree to Disagree – When it comes to some issues, friends have to understand they may not always agree on everything and may have to compromise when possible. Issues, however, that compromise one’s values and beliefs, may cause one to evaluate the depth of the friendship/relationship and at what level he/she wants to remain in the friendship/relationship.