Buddy Benches Spring Up Across Suburbs, Help Elementary Students Connect

Photo caption: Mill Creek Elementary School in Geneva has added an area where students are encouraged to interact. Other schools have added buddy benches. Photo credit: Geneva School District 304

Everyone needs a buddy.

This can be especially true for children in their first years of grade school. Whether they may be feeling lonely or are just in need of a friend to play with or confide in, buddy benches have been popping up at schools throughout the suburbs -- and the nation -- and offering a place for children to express their desire to connect with another kid.

The concept is simple. If you are feeling lonely, you can sit at the buddy bench, which will signal to other kids to come and interact with you.

Park View Elementary School in Glen Ellyn has three buddy benches, which were installed two years ago, said Principal Barb Peterson. The benches have been well-received at the school, especially with children in grades kindergarten through third grade.

“It is so sweet when you go outside with kindergarten students and see two little kids talking on the buddy bench,” Peterson said. “It’s a very neat thing.”

Local girl scout leader, Suzanne Marston, introduced the concept after her girl scouts saw a story about the Buddy Bench featured on the Today Show in December 2013. Christian Bucks, a second-grade student in Pennsylvania, came up with the concept, which received national attention at the time.

It’s hard to say how the benches are helping Park View students in the big picture, but the idea is to build friendships, stave off loneliness and grow confidence, Peterson said.

“We do have some kids who have a tough time with social interaction,” she said. “In the moment, it’s a wonderful way to connect.”

“Sometimes, everyone needs a friend,” she added.

Emerson and Sandburg Elementary Schools in Wheaton have buddy benches as does Lincoln Elementary School in St. Charles, readers reported on Patch.com Facebook pages.

Geneva School District 304 has gone a slightly different route.

Mill Creek Elementary School in Geneva has developed an area of its playground that includes picnic tables featuring popular board games printed on the surface, with the board game pieces available to be checked out at the library and bag games.

Taylor Rhodes Egan, former co-president of the Mill Creek PTO, said the school decided against buddy benches. Following ongoing discussion with the school board, Egan said there was concerns buddy benches might actually “further isolate a child who may need it most.”

“It depends on the child to have the emotional maturity and courage to decide to take a seat, which is a tall order for a 5 or 6 year old,” Egan told Patch. “We decided, after researching many options, to develop an area of the playground offering activities encouraging interaction of peer groups who may otherwise feel they have no common ground.”

“I can say there has been more of an inclusive experience on the playground in the first few weeks of the school year,” she added.

Subscribe to Patch Alerts and Our Daily Email Newsletter