How Parents can Help Their Children to Make Good Friends
It is a common complaint from parents that their children do not have many friends. Parents can really help children make good friends. Learn more about the role of parents in helping their children to make good friends.
It is very important for children to meet other kids and make friendships. This helps in developing confidence in them and also boosts their self esteem. But some or the other way, it may not be possible for every kid to make new friends. So instead of disheartening, parents may take few efforts to help their child make new friends. This article helps parents to learn how.How parents can help their child to make good friends
We see many children around us who have an in-built quality to make friends. Such kids can easily make friends anywhere, in school, gardens and near their house. Such kids have a knack of talking their way to new friendship. This quality comes very easily in some kids and they never have problem in making new friendships. These kids also have in-built social skils that help them get well in crowds and make friendship with new kids around them even in social functions or new places. But that is not the case with every kid around us. Only few of them can manage to show such skills. But there are many kids who are shy and overall reluctant to make new friends. Such kids find it difficult to make new friends or talk to new kids. They overall turn out to be shy and loner and thus stay away from everyone. Now if this is how your kid behaves and stays away from making friends, it's definitely a matter of concern. For such kids if can't make friends at their early age then they grow up as loners and keep it to themselves. Hence parents need to put some efforts by which they may be able to help their kids in such situations. Parents can help their kids make new friends by trying their best thus to help out and encourage their child to come out of their shell.
The kids who can easily and successfully make new friendships always adapt to new surroundings. But that is not the case with loners, who find it difficult to make new friendships. Problems arise when a family plans to shift to a new location. The loner kid hardly has made any friends after some time in his earlier location where he stayed. Now leaving these few friends of his and shifting to a new location may get more difficult for the kid as he may require lot more time to adapt to the new surroundings. Such kids find it very difficult to talk to their neighborhood kids and usually get lonelier. This condition of kids makes parents face guilt for making their child go through this. But instead of facing guilt, what actually parents can do is help their child get into new friendships and thus handle the situation in a better way.
What happens when your child is unable to make friends
- Your child may become a loner
- Your child may feel that he is not liked by anybody
- Your child may get into depression
- Your child may not enjoy going to schools or any other social events.
- Your child will spend more time watching TV or playing video games other than outdoor sports
- Your child may seem isolated from the real world
- Your child's overall development may get hampered
The ability of not being able to make friends is a big hurdle in your child's mental, social and physical development. No parent would imagine or dream of any such thing happening to their child. Such situations get worse when there's a call from school, and teacher complains your child's inability to make new friends. In such situations parents can get frustrated and act in a wrongful manner which in any way may not be able to help the situation. Hence other than getting frustrated and acting in a wrong manner, let's think of some way by which parents can help their child make new friends. Parents should try and avoid frustration
In such situations what most of the parents do is end up in frustrations for they have to stand in front of teachers and get embarrassed. Then out of frustration they try to harm kids either verbally or physically. What parents mostly assume is that children learn to get social on their own or learn it from their friends. But hardly have they understood their lack of input. Other than harming the child and getting frustrated try and understand the reasons why a kid may act that way. Try to find out the reasons and fears that a child has which keep him away from making new friends. Out of frustration don't start naming your kids or teasing him in front of everyone including their friends. This will worsen the situation further for the kids. Instead try and speak with your child and try to help him come out of all the fears that he has about getting social.Help your child to make new friends
In many cases, kids are not able to make friends because they really don't know how to. This is where parents can come to help their children. Try and help your child to make friends. Help them understand what the other children want from them. Make them help appear their best in front of the other kids. Try and teach them to smile and greet their friends and to keep a friendly appearance in front of new friends. Help them to respect their friends opinion too and to respect their talent.Help your child understand the importance of friendship
It is very important for a child to know how important friendship is for them. Once they know the importance of friendship and about getting social they try to interact and make new friends. Kids are not aware how important a friend can be for them. Help them understand the importance of interaction with kids of their age group. Encourage your child to approach new friends and to start a healthy interaction. Help to develop a positive and social environment which will help your child to make new friends.Top 10 tips for parents to help their child make friends
1. Encourage your child to come along with you to social events and introduce them to the children of their same age group.
2. Help your child to overcome difficulties which keep them away from making new friends.
3. Don't tag your kids with negative labels like 'bad' or 'useless' or 'weird', which will worsen the situation.
4. Don't push your child to forcibly make friendships with kids they don't like.
5. Always listen to what kids want to say about something and respect their feelings.
6. Encourage your child to express themselves in front of everyone.
7. If your child particularly is not happy about a friend who acts mean with him, advice him to concentrate on other friends, other than getting dishearten.
8. Encourage your child to participate in various curricular activities or hobby classes where they may find new friends who would share the same hobby or activity.
9. Always keep regular follow-ups with school teachers and learn how your child behaves in school when it comes to friendship.
10. Be a good friend of your child and thus be a good role model, this way the child understands the true meaning and aspect of friendship.
Do you have any other tips to help children make good friends in the school and in their neighborhood? Share your suggestiosn and tips as a comment below.
Even though every parent takes the utmost care of the child in every matter, when it comes to making friends, the child and mother would be more selective for many reason. For the child he wants to mingle with all children and make new friendship, but for the mother she prefer her child to make friends with those children who are one up in their activities and studies and by virtue of their friendship and bonding much knowledge transfer takes place and this true also. If such good friends start behaving from young age they would become the best peer group in future which has much advantage mutually. That is the reason being so parents are more selective in making friends for their own children and they would identify the bright students and ask them to mingle with her child and thus close bonding has started.