Helping Your Child Make Friends

For some children, making friends comes naturally. These lucky kids are sociable individuals who have no trouble interacting with others. I always imagined that my husband Kevin was that kind of child - as an adult he can comfortably interact with anyone he meets, a gift he takes for granted as he has no concept of how it feels to be shy or poor at socializing. It was interesting for me to see how alike his daughter is - when she moved in with us aged 17, she made lots of new friends in no time. Perhaps there is a strong genetic element as they are very similar in their interactions with others.

For children who have a more shy, retiring or introverted personality, they may need more help in making friends. Check out this article on How to Help Your Child Make Friends for some ideas on making play dates successful and other ways of helping your child develop social skills and friendships.