5 Tips for Helping Your Child Make New Friends

Friendship is an important part of life, and learning to make friends is a crucial social skill for children to practice. Here are a few tips from our teachers for helping your child make new friends.

1. Model appropriate interactions.

• Children watch the adults around them, so be sure to use kind words, practice please and thank you, and show your child what a good friend looks like.

2. Help your child name the emotions of others.

• Talk about how people may be feeling.
• Demonstrate looking at facial cues by saying, “Oh, that friend looks sad. I wonder why he’s sad.”

3. Try new things.

• Gradually helping your child stretch outside his or her comfort zone can build confidence.
• For example, if your child likes to play with one friend, add one more child to the mix. Go to a new park and practice sharing the slide. You can also invite yourself to play and model positive interaction.

4. Get involved in the community.

• Exposing your child to new experiences can expand the number of friends.
• Try taking a class or attending a family event. This could help your child meet other children who have similar interests.

5. Problem solve together.

• Listen carefully, ask questions, and practice problem-solving.
• For example, if your child is upset because Johnny didn’t want to play cars, you can talk about what else they could play together. These conversations are a great way to model problem-solving skills.