Let's Be Friends: How to Teach Your Child to Communicate with Peers
What to do if a child cannot or does not want to communicate with peers and make friends? An expert in the field of child psychology tells us.
Every person needs strong social connections, friendship, communication, so as not to feel lonely. It is necessary to start acquiring these connections in childhood, so that in later life there are no problems with communication and building relationships with people. But what if the child does not want to meet and communicate with other children? How to help your child find friends? Child and family psychologist Olesya Fateeva will answer these questions.
"It is necessary to teach the child to communicate and make friends, so that in the future he will not be lonely. After all, the feeling of loneliness that arises over many years is associated with a higher risk of developing diseases. In addition, it can lead to a reduction in life expectancy - this was found out by scientists from the University of Michigan, having analyzed the data of more than 9,000 people," she emphasizes.
Why?
Children on a walk in the forest. Photo source: freepik.com
In modern society, the lack of friends is perceived as a sign that something is wrong with a person. However, this is not a reason to ignore the problem and turn away from such a person (especially if it is a child). Olesya Fateeva named the main reasons for children's reluctance to contact with peers:
"Each child may have different reasons for the lack of friends. And in each case, of course, it is necessary to sort things out individually.
The most common reasons for a child's lack of friends include:
- low self-esteem;
- insufficiently developed social skills;
- shyness;
- unrealistic expectations and too high demands;
- antisocial behavior and aggression towards peers"
What to do?
Family support. Photo source: Freepik.com
The expert offers parents the following options for the development of events aimed at helping the child build relationships with peers:
- try to gently find out the child's opinion why he has no friends,
- find a way to observe the child, among his peers, how he communicates, whether he has communication problems,
- analyze your actions, was there ever a ban on communication with this or that child,
- offer the child to enroll in clubs or sections according to his interests, there will be additional communication with peers, an opportunity to make friends with someone,
- if you have neighbors with children of the same age, offer to invite someone to visit,
- enroll the child in group classes with a child psychologist, on the development of communication skills and emotional intelligence
The main thing is to maintain a calm and friendly attitude when talking with the child about his relationships with other children. In this situation, it is very important for a small person to feel the support and acceptance of his parents.