While friendships can occasionally be difficult, tweens need friends and having friends will help them deal with all the challenges associated with middle school. Below are some common friendship problems your child might encounter in middle school, along with a few simple solutions to help solve them.
Being Excluded
For many tweens, their biggest fear is being socially excluded or ostracized from friends and peers. Tweens desire to be a part of a group, and without one, they feel lost. To make matters even more complicated, many tweens experience friendship problems in middle school, and may actually lose a friend or two in the process, even long-term friendships may suffer. If your child is being excluded, try to find out why. Are their social skills in need of improvement? Or, is there some other reason why their peers reject them? It’s probably a good idea to touch base with your child’s teachers or guidance counselor, to see if they have any suggestions or helpful information.
Dealing With Bullying
Educate your child about bullying, and give them ideas on how to handle a bully should they come face to face with one. Also, teach your child that good friends don’t bully or try to manipulate others. Good friends also don’t torment their friends.
Being Dumped
Rejection is never easy, and it’s especially difficult for tweens and teens. Sometimes children are rejected, even by long-time friends, or dumped in favor of more popular kids. It’s also possible for friends to grow apart during middle school, as interests change or develop. If your child is dumped by a friend, be there to offer support. Let them know that sometimes friendships don’t last, and point out friends that are still there for them. Help your child expand their circle of friends through social and extracurricular activities.
When Friends Go Bad
Some children change during middle school, and it’s possible that your child may have a friend who experiments with drugs, alcohol, or other dangerous behaviors. Your best line of defense is to know your child’s friends and to chat frequently with other parents. That way, you’re likely to spot a dangerous friendship and deal with it before it gets out of hand. Find ways to keep your child busy in order to limit time alone with a bad friend. Encourage your tween to find interests and extracurricular activities in order to expand their circle of friends and interests. Also, be sure your child knows what your expectations are, as well as any consequences should your tween stray from your family rules.
Being Manipulated
Friendships can be difficult, even the best of friendships are challenging. It’s possible that your child may encounter a friend who manipulates them, and that’s something you need to help your child deal with. Explain what manipulation is, and how to stand up for yourself. Arm your child with phrases or responses that help them deal with manipulative friends, such as, “I don’t like being manipulated, so please stop this now!” Also, teach your child the qualities of a good friend, and how to be one for others.
