Making new friends can be scary!

Recently Taylor asked me for my suggestions on helping little one’s who are struggling to make friends. Her son Greg is struggling to connect with classmates outside of his cousin and one friend from preschool.

Greg started Kindergarten in a public school last fall and while he is a pretty social kiddo in small groups, Taylor says that he struggles to interact with other kids in larger settings. We often don’t think much about our kiddos navigating the social field as they start school but it is often a huge emotional milestone for them and one that sometimes they need help with!

Kids want to meet people, make friends, and for others to show an interest in them. Sometime’s it just “clicks” and unbeknownst to you they’ve got a new BFF. BUT sometimes it isn’t “natural’ or “easy”. Sometimes your child who is a funny, smart, loving, caring individual can still struggle to make friends. Because making friends is a learned skill, like anything else, and I am going to share with you some ways we can help them learn that skill!

Some easy ways to introduce your child to new people can be:

1. Join a club or sports team. This not only helps to meet people, but allows you to find people with similar interests.

2. Become involved in the community. This can be the community block party event, church, etc.

3. Go to the local park! The park is a great place to meet new faces and enjoy yourself while doing so!

4. Find out about local events that occur weekly. This could be as simple as youth group, trivia night, etc.

By getting involved, your child not only has the opportunity to meet new people but is now given MANY chances to practice as well.

Some strategies to use with your school aged child are:

1. Practicing "What would you do.." scenarios. Given your child examples of situations he might come across when meeting new people. For example, What would you do if you met someone new and they were carrying a game boy?

2. Discuss similarities and differences and how to determine them between people. For example: "Oh wow, I like your shirt. It looks cool. Do you watch that cartoon?"

3. Practice conversational starters! These might include a joke, a way to introduce yourself, etc.

This time should not be stressful for your child, but should be a time that you can celebrate together! They should enjoy their time before beginning the next chapter in their life. Let's make it fun and easy for our children to grow using these simple tools!