09 Mar How to Help Your Child to Make Friends

Is your child having a problem developing friendships? Then it is your duty as a parent to help your child feel more confident to make friends. Don’t think of it as an abnormality; rather the ability to make friends does not come naturally to everyone. In addition, it is quite tricky to teach how to make friends. It is because building a friendship is related to the child’s emotional skills, self-regulation skills and social competence. But as a parent, you should never lose hope! You can play a crucial role in the development of this ability in your child. Baba Manjh Convent School, the best convent school in Hoshiarpur always encourages the parents to help their child build this friendship skill as friends are the valuable assets of one’s life.

5 Effective Tips to Help Your Child Make Friends:

Now look at some of the effective tips that will help you to assess the emotion of your child and help them to make friends accordingly:

• Model Positive Social Behavior: As a parent, you can be the best coach to develop your child’s socio-emotional skills through some simple processes such as encouragement and modelling. It is recommended to model positive behavior as you are the person whom your child will first imitate. Every time you strike up a conversation with others will give your child a learning opportunity of how to build a relationship.

• Encourage Your Child: When you see your child exhibiting friendly behaviors such as sharing things, playing together, just praise them. It will encourage your child to build a friendship. Again, practicing social skills such as saying ‘hello’, ‘thank you, ‘sorry’ to someone will enable your child to learn social cues and age-related social skills. You can make this task easy by organizing playdates with peers. It will help your child to make friends. But make sure they are socially competent and have an equal interest in your child.

• Engage Your Child in Extra-Curriculum Activities: Encouraging your child to participate in extra-curriculum activities such as sports, cultural programs will give your child a wider opportunity to play, interact with others. It will help them to make friends.

• Give Your Child a Head Start: Parents often complain that their child is reluctant to take any initiative. If you face the same situation, you must take the initiative for your child. For instance, suppose your child is interested in playing cricket but is reluctant to take training. Don’t worry! Just give your time some time and visit the field with him and make your child feel that he/she is capable enough to do this.

• Don’t Avoid the Problem: It is recommended not to ignore the problem. But try your best to help your child improve this skill. Be realistic and encourage your child to try new things rather than focusing on their success or failure.

So, if you feel that your child is shy and has trouble making friends, it is your duty to provide them with easy and safe opportunities to help them interact with others as done by Baba Manjh Convent School, one of the top CBSE schools in Hoshiarpur.