While you are giving your all to your child to make him happy, this might not be enough to paint a smile on his face. Other than your love as a parent, your child also needs friends.

Having friends is one of the most important aspects in life. Friends are those people whom we hold close into our hearts. They are people whom we share our laughs with, our listeners, and our partners in almost everything. Yes, even children need friends too.

If you notice that your child is lonely, perhaps you should help him make friends, especially if your child is a shy one. And no, this is not interfering into your child’s every aspect of his life. You are only helping him to express himself more in order to make friends.

1. Accompany your child to playdates.

If there are a few number of your child’s peers in your neighborhood, you could arrange a playdate schedule for your child. Playdates provide a great opportunity for your child to meet other children his age.

You could join mom associations in your local area that hold playdates for their children, or you could enroll your child to playgroups that hold socializing events such as playing, dancing, reading, drawing, acting, or even cooking. If there are no playgroups in your area, you could just accompany your child to playgrounds where children of different ages gather.

2. Ask your child about his friends at school.

Whenever your child goes home from school, ask him whom he played or talked with. You could also ask him as to whom he ate lunch together. If you show interest talking about his friends, then your child will have the notion that having friends is a good thing and will make friends even more.

Asking about your child’s friends at school will keep you updated, and lets you in the know whether everyone at school is being nice to your child or not. Because if you don’t ask how your child spent his day at school, he won’t be able to express his feelings, what he wants, and things that bother him.

3.Teach your child how to interact with his peers through roleplaying.

Sometimes, your child is unable to make friends because he does not know how to interact with other children. What you could do as a parent is to act like one of your child’s playmates. Say for example, play an indoor or outdoor activity together with your child. Just play like what a child his age would do.

Through playing games together, your child will learn how to interact with a new playmate the next time he plays the game again. Your child will remember how you play the game with him, how you talk with him during the game, how you make suggestions during the game, and many more.

4. Don’t interfere too much during your child’s play activities.

Though you want to help your child make friends, do not interfere too much during your child’s play activities, or he will get embarrassed in front of his friends, which could also be one of the reasons for bullying, because you are being overprotective.

Whenever your child is playing together with his friends, just silently watch over him. Only intervene when a situation goes out of hand, like when your child is going to get hurt, or other similar situations. Other than that, your child could handle everything by himself.

Have you helped your child make friends? What are the methods you used to get your child to socialize with other kids?