Modeling Friendship for Your Children
-October 18, 2010-Comments (0)
The best way you can help your child develop healthy friendship skills is by modeling healthy social skills and friendships. Your child is watching. Here are some quick tips on how to do that.
- Watch your words. Do not gossip. Do not make disparaging remarks about others.
- Teach your child how to make friends and what to do when others are unkind. Roleplay common scenarios.
- Talk about cliques with your child. Acknowledge that your child will not be friends with everyone but can be kind to everyone.
- Provide opportunities for your child to make new friends in a variety of settings with a variety of peers. Schedule playdates. Head to the park. Get your child involved in the children’s ministry at your church.
- Praise your child when he is friendly and goes out of his way to include others.
- Be a good listener. What may seem like unimportant playground drama is significant to your child.
How else can we teach our children to be good friends?
Photo used with permission of Flickr Creative Commons. Click on photo for source.
