Support and Friendship

Thank goodness for my dear friend Cassie. She is always there to make me start believing again when I am having doubts and to prop me up when I feel like I can no longer stand on my own two feet without help. Just recently she helped me through a rough patch where I was having a lot of doubts. Our friendship means the world to me and I would be lost without it. She offers me support and guidance and sometimes just lets me vent.

Friendship is also vital to your children. Most children especially teens will not necessarily confide in their parents or other family members if they are having problems, but will usually tell a good friend. Your kids need to know that you are there for them if they are ever in trouble but some kids just keep secrets from their parents and it is not because you are a bad parent. It is just what kids do. That is why it is so imperative for them to have a friend they can lay their troubles on.

If you think that your children may be having problems making friends it is a good idea to ask them if they are happy with the friendships in their lives? If you word it that way they will feel better about telling you if they are having problems rather than asking them if they have any friends, which will make them feel like something is wrong with them if they don't have any friends to speak of. There are many things that you can do as a parent to help in this area, but if nothing seems to work it may be time to talk to your child's teacher or even to seek professional help as it may be a self esteem issue, that needs to be dealt with. Check out this article on How to Help Your Child Make Friends!

Happy Friendships,

Monicka