A Kindergartener and a Fifth Grader start a friendship. The Kindergartener starts to play with the Fifth Grader at recess. One on one they get along fine. Then the Fifth Grader invites his friends to play. The Kindergartener has fun until he realizes that their skill level, dexterity, and level of communication are far more advanced than his. He becomes frustrated, at first he may work extra hard to keep up. When he finally realizes that he cannot, he will start to find excuses not to play, act up, complain to his friend, etc..
The Fifth Graders will also start to feel frustrated with the Kindergarteners ability.
- Extra time spent teaching their new young friend
- Teams are no longer equal
- Feel limited in their play
Eventually, the friendship loses its strength. The Kindergartener starts playing with his Kindergarten friends and finds they have a common ground. They may have different skill sets, but they are coming from a similar level of experience, and developing their skills together.
Relationships need to be mutually beneficial for all parties.
