5 Ideas to Help your Child Make Friends at a New School
Changing schools can be a hard experience for children; it does not only require them to adjust to the new environment, but also make new friends. Socializing isn’t very simple for a child so it sometimes takes the intervention of parents. As a parent, you need to make sure your child finds new friends in order to make the adjustment process easier.
In this article, we will list 5 ideas that can help you make sure it doesn’t get hard for your child to make new friends.
- It Starts with your Child
Before even thinking about the right new friends for your child, you need to know exactly how comfortable your child is around new people. The best approach, in this case, it to put your child in situations where they have to socialize and pay attention to their reactions. Engaging your child in activities will help you ensure your child’s comfort around the new faces. It can also alert you in case your child is anxious or uncomfortable.
- Focus on your Child’s Comfort Zone
Children like to shine at playing the games they are best at; if your child is good at a specific game, make sure to take them to that specific game practice. A comfortable child finds socializing easier. At the same time, you can be very helpful in assisting the child in getting closer to new friends.
- Teach then Practice with Them
You can be very helpful when it comes to teaching your child how to approach and connect with new peers. Think of yourself not only as a parent but also as an interpersonal skills coach. Start by explaining how your child has to introduce themselves and contribute to a conversation. Roleplay can be very helpful in this case; it allows you to examine how your child is putting the new knowledge to use.
- Encourage your Child to Start New Activities
A new entourage can contain new activities that your child is not familiar with. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy for the child to go for a completely new activity and become good at it. This becomes harder with children that fear being bad, compared to their peers, at the activity. Building interest and comfort in new activities takes baby steps. You need to start by giving your child the chance to watch before doing anything. Then, you can explore the activity choices with them and make sure there is some interest to start the new activity.
- Don’t Force Anything
Forcing things with children is never a good idea, especially if they’re already uncomfortable in a new environment.
Making new friends can never be fast and easy for a child, so, enable your child to have enough time getting used to the new home and neighborhood before tackling other spaces such as school. The more comfortable children are at home, the more confident they get at school to perform academically and socially.