Not all children find friendships easy. They find it easy to make new friends but then seem to let them slip away. Some children are conscious that they are doing this but most do not understand why their ‘friends’ are not including them in activities. The reason why is that they are not making the kind of effort that other children are making with each other. Maintaining good friendships is no easy task – it can be challenging and time consuming. But so well worth the effort which is why we need to teach our children to maintain friendships when they like specific children and get a sense of having things in common with them. As a parent there are certainly things we can do to help. One of the most important things is that we talk to our children about their friendships to check they are doing all the right things to encourage friendships to develop. One of those things is really putting the effort in and not giving u when the friendships feel tricky.
Is Your Child Maintaining Good Friendships?
1. Are they being friendly.
2. Are they asking their friends questions about things they know they are interested in.
3. If they are being helpful, kind and considerate to others.
4. Are they joining in with activities and conversations – if not they need to attempt to do so.
5. Are they are choosing not to be a part of a group – why?
6. Are they are sharing information about themselves so that others can get to know them too.
7. Are the asking to invite children over to the house so they can get to know them better or give them the option to invite all the children to their next party
How do you help your child maintain friendships?
If you would like a further resource about friendships have a look at my successful friendships ebook.
Image courtesy of chrisroll at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
