How to Help Your Child Make Friends: Social Skills to Last a Lifetime

Want to learn more about how to help your child make friends? At every age, children vary greatly in how they make friends, keep friends and handle challenges such as conflict, bullying, rejection or bad influence. So, to what extent can effective, positive social skills be taught? And what is the appropriate role of parents in helping children build these important life skills? Camie Christensen, former Program Director at St. David’s Center for Child and Family Development, brings wisdom and practical strategies to this week’s lively and heartfelt discussion of how to help your child make friends and be a friend.   HOW WILL YOU HELP YOUR CHILD MAKE FRIENDS? How does your child usually approach other children when meeting them for the first time? What challenges has your child faced in getting along with peers? What ideas did you hear in this Mom Enough discussion about how you might help your child strengthen his or her social skills?   WANT TO LEARN MORE? ❉ GIRLS & AGGRESSION: POSSIBLE CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND TIPS FOR PREVENTION. Watch Dr. Marti Erickson with KARE 11 News’ Ellery McCardle discuss 5 tips on what parents, educators and other caring adults can do to prevent relational aggression.   ❉ HELPING OUR CHILDREN BUILD SELF-COMPASSION: KEYS TO KINDNESS, GRATITUDE AND COMPASSION FOR OTHERS. Dr. Shilagh Mirgain, a health and sport psychologist at the University of Wisconsin, discusses how to help your children develop compassion for themselves and others, recognizing the common humanity, vulnerability and imperfection we all share.   ❉ FRESH PERSPECTIVES ON BULLYING: A “STICKS AND STONES” CONVERSATION WITH AUTHOR EMILY BAZELON. Discover what we should do to support a deeper understanding of – and more effective response to – bullying in this podcast with author Emily Bazelon, Senior Editor of Slate and frequent guest on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report.