Life without friends is no fun at all. Are you worried that your child does not have friends? Here is what you can teach your child to help him make friends.
Human beings are social animals. The need to be in happy relationships with other human beings is a basic human need. Every child needs friends to feel complete.
A small joke – shared with a friend can be laughed over for days. A toy shared with a friend immediately becomes twice as much fun to play with. And ordinary moments become times to cherish when they are shared with friends.
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Why do children need friends?
Children need friends with whom they can laugh and play and share and have fun. And they need friends as much as they need healthy food and regular exercise.
Friends are essential for the mental well-being and happiness of your child. And mental health is just as important as physical health for your child.
Every child needs friends to feel complete. And as parents we need to learn how to help children make friends.
Why do some children have friends when others don’t?
Nobody is born with friends. Friends have to be made. A conscious effort has to be made if one wants friends.
Children are not born with the qualities required to make friends. When a child is born – he is aware only about himself and his own needs. Caring about other people and their feelings is something that children need to learn over a period of time.
Children who learn how to understand what other people are thinking and what other people want early in life are good at making friends.
When children live in large families and in the midst of communities where they interact with many people every day – they acquire these skills easily and automatically.
In nuclear families however, where children are indulged and treated with preference all the time – they take very long to learn these qualities unless parents take the lead and actively teach them these qualities.
Also read Is your child too busy and over-scheduled?
What can I do to help my child make friends?
When a child does not have friends – parents are typically disappointed and angry with the children who do not want to be friends with their child. They feel insulted. They cannot imagine why anyone would not want to be friends with their child.
Also read What to do when your child fights with his friend?
Their anger and disappointment makes them withdraw into themselves and they pull their child away from the children who are rejecting her/him. This isolates the child and makes the possibility of him/her learning how to make friends even more remote.
Friendships follow a set pattern of behaviors. And children who are taught these behaviors by their parents make more friends. They also make friends faster.
If you want your child to have lots of friends – teach him the following
- Teach your child how to smile. A smile is the first sign that you are open to being friends with someone. A child who smiles at other children will definitely make friends faster
- Teach your child to greet easily. Being able to walk up to a complete stranger and say a “Hello” is not an easy task. It requires courage and this courage is built over time when your child sees you say “Hello” and “Hi” without hesitation
- Teach your child to be nice to others. Everyone wants to be friends with children who are kind and considerate.
Don’t feel hurt and unhappy about your child not having friends. Don’t scold your child for not being able to make friends either.
Read more on the skills your child needs to make friends Here
You have the best child in the world.
Let the world discover your wonderful child by teaching him how to get along with other children and make friends.
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