Children should not be pressured to have a ‘best friend’, a parenting coach has said. 

On The Hard Shoulder, Aoife Lee said there is  “such pressure” for a child to have a best friend and some find it hard to handle. 

“That can cause all kinds [of pressure],” she said. 

“I would always say to families, for the adults not to have such an emphasis for your child to have a best friend. 

“Of course, even as adults you’ve got people that you’ve got really good connections with. 

“But I think it’s important to try and just try and not have this massive emphasis.” 

According to a survey last year by Eurostat, 20% of Irish people report feeling lonely most or all of the time - compared to an EU average of 13%.

You can listen back to the full interview here:

Main image: Children smiling in the classroom. Picture by: Fredrick Kippe / Alamy Stock Photo