The Survival Guide for Making and Being Friends
Whether kids find socializing as natural as smiling or as hard as learning a foreign language, this book can help them improve their social skills so they can better enjoy the benefits of friendship
I recently had to make a painful decision. I had to cut off a friend. The relationship wasn’t healthy and even as an adult, I’m still learning who I need and want in my life as opposed to those who are not good for me or , truthfully, for each other. It’s hard. I make friends slowly and meticulously and when trust is breached I back away quickly like the ‘crab’ (born in July) that I am.
But then something happened! I decided to cut off all ‘friends’ who weren’t really ‘friends’! I felt lighter, happier and better in general. See, I never really learned how to make friends, what it really means to be a good friend and how to maintain healthy relationships. I’m a giver and gravitate towards ‘takers’. That’s not to say they are bad people, but if someone is offering you something for free for nothing in return, why would you help them out when they actually need and ask for it if that was never the deal? It’s easy to take advantage of that and I realized that way too late in life. So instead of throwing myself a pity party (ok, so I did for a week or two), I decided to just start again and keep those true friends closer than ever. Voila! It worked. Maintenance is so important for friendships that are healthy and are actually easy to be part of in life.
Now I don’t want my daughters to do the same as me! See, I learned from my mom. She had a tendency to pick off-balance relationships and people who were not good for her! As a child, I remember asking her to not hang around certain friends and she never listened. If you have ever sat across the table from someone picking apart your parent, it is painful. You feel territorial. You wonder why people keep up friendships – when life is so fast and precious – that just hurt. You don’t have to do that! Yes, so now it is my turn. I want my kids to learn healthy and good habits from me, so a recent book I read was a HUGE eye opener for me and a great teaching tool to talk to my oldest about what it means to make and be a good friend. YES! I guess adults need this book, too.
This book covers practical advice for boys and girls that covers everything from breaking the ice to developing friendships to overcoming problems. True-to-life vignettes, “what would you do?” scenarios, voluminous examples, quizzes to test learning, “Try This” assignments for practicing techniques, and advice from real kids make this an accessible life-skills handbook. In addition to offering kids tons of strategies for making friends, it also talks about how to be a good friend, and how to deal with the heartbreak we’ve all faced at one time or another and teaching kids what to do and how to cope when a friendship ends. It will all be ok! It takes two to make a relationship work and friendships are not always made to last. It is the special ones you want to hang on to and nurture – together. Perfecto!
About Free Spirit Publishing: Free Spirit publishing has an excellent motto of ‘Meeting kids’ social and emotional needs since 1983’ and they have the catalog to back up this mission. There is so much good stuff on their website, that I really just encourage you to check it out and see what might interest you. I personally like their free Professional Development webinars, especially the webinar on Preparing the Next Generation of K–12 Student Leaders by Mariam G. MacGregor, M.S. For those looking for some great early education empowerment books, check out the author Elizabeth Verdick who has a great series called Toddler Tools.
The Survival Guide for Making and Being Friends
List Price: $13.99 (E-Book Available)
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