If you’re familiar with the story of our new app,  My Little Pony: Twilight Sparkle Teacher for a Day, you know that friendship is a serious topic in the storybook app.  The story brings up a lot of friendship issues that we can all relate to.  It also brings up working together to solve problems (cooperation, loyalty, etc.).   We’ve all grown up with the My Little Pony brand and know the valuable lessons it can teach us.

So, with all that in mind, we gathered with eighty-nine tweeps on Twitter and talked about our love for My Little Pony and friendship.  It was a popular night, partly because we were giving away the My Little Pony app, as well as prizes that were graciously donated by our friends at Playskool and Schwinn Bikes.

The winners were:  @marlibu, @elivya, @Lukedoc321, @vloky, @PeriwinklePapi, @redsoxdad.

We were also so lucky and thrilled to have four guest moderators:  @coolkidsmommy @mommymentor @thechattymomma @amotherhoodblog.  They really helped lead and guide the discussion and made great additions to our fast-moving Twitter party.

Q1 - Twilight Sparkle is a gentle, kind and calm pony and is very devoted to her interests.  How do you introduce your friendship to your very young children?  Do you nurture particular friendships and how do you get your children to nurture them?

mommymentor:  We choose to nurture the friendships that teach our children what “friendship” is truly about.

amotherhoodblog: Friendship can be introduced to young children simply by sharing activities and letting them know you’re not just mom

bcherry82: I always tell my son to be good to his friends, and always think of them first. Always consider their feelings.

coolkidsmommy:  I try to expose my kids to social situations early and sharing is super important!

EarthAngel2b: LOTS of praise/positive reinforcement 4sharing,caring friendliness/manners, nip poor behaviors in bud quickly

Q2: For a unicorn who’s new to the magic of friendship, Twilight Sparkle gets an “A+.”  She uses her magical powers to help her friends, and she’s always ready to lend a helping hoof.  How do you teach your child the importance of being a good friend?

hzeh818: I teach her to always be fair and to think about how others feel and treat everyone with kindness.

ToodiesMomma: @RuckusMedia Q2: By teaching them to be kind, listen to others, share, and treat them nicely.

Unkatchable73: @RuckusMedia Q2. You lead by example.. you teach them that being a good friends mean having a good friend in return.

justicecw: Be a good example…children learn what they see.

elivya: You can point out to them when a friend does something nice for them how they feel. Make them want to do that.

Q3: Sparkle is unable to control her raw magical power, causing it to overload and fire off a flurry of troublesome, random spells. Princess Celestia learned to tame her abilities through focused study.  How have you nurtured your child’s talents and kept education in balance?

summerflood: we get our kids into after school activities, like ballet, piano, girl scouts. It broadens their horizons and learn from other.

HuppieMama: So important to build on children’s interests and talents and to encourage creativity.

ToodiesMomma: The more talents, passions, hobbies, and interests the better! Love creativity.

gordonfan24ever:  yeah I think you should let them experience all they can so they and figure out what they want to do.

lovinmomma88: We make sure to let him express his interests..etc. while introducting more.

Q4: Despite being highly intelligent and having extraordinary magical power, Twilight Sparkle remains very humble and modest, not wanting to outshine her friends or make a big deal out of her talents.  At what age did you see cliques start up?  How do you keep your child safe from getting hurt and feeling excluded?

coollegumes: Cliques are awful. I hated 6th grade for that very reason. I’m big on teaching my kids only love.

tracyparral:  my son is in first grade now and already been bullied on as of last year, i just teach him how to stand up 4 self.

bcherry82:  Sadly Kindergarten,tell them they have to overlook kids that leave them out & to play w/ that like what they do.

Doodle741: My oldest has a VERY vivid imagination – and is often excluded because of it. It hurts me.

chancesmommy: Don’t think we can keep child safe from getting hurt or excluded,but*prepare*them for what may or may not happen.

Q5: In the “Applebuck Season” episode of “My Little Pony Friendship is Magic,” Applejack exhausts herself by harvesting apples by herself AND helping all the ponies in Ponyville.  Parents, how do you teach your children to lend a helping hand?

vloky: lead by example, and I have been giving him age appropriate chores since he was 2 or so.

tfortink: My kids help others w/ opening doors, carrying groceries, asking of course if they want the help first.

HuppieMama: Im director of a nonprofit for kids w/disabilities – bring my daughter w/me to work sometimes.

MommyMentor: Our children choose at least 10 toys to donate before Christmas each year

sleatham1: I explain that we all need to lend a hand and things can get done faster…at school, at home, everywhere.

Q6: As a fashionista, Rarity’s dream come true would be designing for Princess Celestia.  Parents, what do your children want to be when they grow up? How do you support their dreams?

redsoxdad: I tell them they can be whatever they want to be and do whatever they want to do.

mellanhead: I want them to be whatever they want to be. Whatever makes them happy.

NEHoustonMacKid: My daughter says she wants to be a “rockstar”-I support her dreams by belting out the abc & twinkle in the car.

keltom2: I think it changes everyday, they are little, police man, fireman, monster truck driver lately.

gordonfan24ever: Mine are undicided right now just enjoying being a kid.