“Friendships are very important when it comes to emotional health,” explains Julia Cook, a former teacher and school counselor who authored “Making Friends Is an ART!”
Help your child make new friends this school year by teaching them social and emotional skills during everyday activities.
Be a good model: your child will always learn from you. Give them the opportunity to practice how to be a good friend at home.
Talk to them: let them tell you what’s going on. Converse about “friends qualities” so your child can identify them in other children. Beside, talking is very important in every friendship.
Encourage play dates or activities: invite your child’s closest peers to your house to create a more relaxing environment than school. You can also involve your child in activities s/he likes so they can share the same interests with other children.
Cultivate empathy and sympathy in your child: help them understand that others can have different thoughts and feelings than them.
Be patience: all children are different, be supportive on whatever the situation is for your child. Comparing them to their siblings or other peers might be dangerous.
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