The Importance of BFFs

Staying happy at every age can be an easy thing to do when we surround ourselves with friends. 

Friends help us:
- get along
- learn to work it out when we have different ideas
- teach us how to play by rules
- make mistakes without being afraid of getting laughed at
- try out new things in a safe environment
- feel like we belong

Best Friends Forever! 

When we are young we:
- pick friends who are like us
- play games
- play in groups
- laugh at silly jokes
- pick friends who make us feel safe in a fun group

When we are in middle childhood and early teens we:
- spend the most time with friends
- start to do more things on our own, rather than with help from family
- get strength from friends to help us take on peer pressure and competition

Families sometimes try to protect us from pressure situations, but better to let us have some of them happen and teach us how to deal with them, don’t you think?

The best part of friends and social circles is that they can be made up of just one or two close friends or very large groups of friends – whichever suits our social style.

So what about if you are having problems making friends? 
Do any of these descriptions fit you?
- your best friend recently moved away
- you are really shy and find it hard to join a group
- you just moved to a new school
- the way you act around other kids makes them not want to play with you
- you have friends at school but don’t know how to be friends from home too

Friends are so important that it really is worth it to make an effort to find some friends.  Kids without friends are sometimes targets of bullies, can feel lonely, and can have trouble with schoolwork!

This is why you may want to involve your parents.  Depending on your age, maybe they could schedule a play date, or invite a few kids from your class or sports team to spend time at your house.  They can help get you to the mall after you’ve arranged to meet someone there, or they can set you up with some cash for a trip to the movies.  

If Tuesday night is the only time to meet up with a particular friend, maybe they can be flexible about dinner plans.  If you are shy, parents usually don’t mind making those first few phone calls for you.  And if you are behaving in a way that makes other kids avoid you, maybe you can work on that with your parents’ help. 

Friends give us so much, they are truly worth having!