Inside: Best tips on how to help your teen make friends this year.
In today’s age of constant virtual connection, it can be surprisingly hard to make new friends. This is especially true for teens. Since the pandemic, many teens had 2 years where the only people they really spoke to was their families, there is a serious lack of new friends being made. I’ve even seen this in my own kids at home.
As parents, this can be so hard to watch. Having friends is a very important part of a teen’s development. It affects their mental health, their physical health, and so much more. So what can you do to help them make more friends?
I have a list of ideas and tips that you can use to help push your teen toward creating more in-person connections with people. Take a look!
Hot Tips On How to Help Your Teen Make Friends
I know that this may be a hard subject to approach because you don’t want to make your teen feel like they have done something wrong. Chances are they already notice the lack as well and won’t have the friendliest reaction to you pushing them, but it is needed.
Follow the advice below, and they will have friends in no time.
1. Open Communication
Having an open line of communication with your teen is the first part of being able to help them make friends. Otherwise, they will shut down completely and you will not be able to help them. Ask them about who they’re meeting and offer to drive everyone after school for a fun treat like yogurt.
2. Discuss the Importance of Friends
Let them know the importance of making friends. There are so many ways that having In Real Life friends benefits you. If you would like to brush up on these benefits, I have an article here to help.
3. Ask how they make friends currently
Perhaps they already have a good system in place; it just needs a little updating to better suit their friend-making needs. Offer simple suggestions like planning to study together for a hard class, or inviting them over to swim after school on a late summer day.
4. Come up with conversations they could spark
It may sound funny, but coming up with different icebreakers for school is a wonderful way to help your teen find ways to talk to new people with confidence.
5. Send them to school with candy or gum
This way, they can offer it to people and start up conversations this way. The same thing with food, send them with extra. Then when they are on lunch, they can offer it to someone and make their day.
6. See if they want to start a group
See what kinds of things your teen is passionate about, and then talk about reaching out to the community to see if anyone else is interested in a group.
7. Encourage Them
Pushing your teen to get out of their comfort zone and to go out to meet people can be really hard, but it is doable if you don’t budge. Don’t be a total military parent though, just don’t give up encouraging them to try again.
8. Get Out More Together
Below the last list, I have included some awesome activities that your teen can do out of the house to meet more people. Sometimes it helps if you go along to be their friend as they step into meeting peers their own age.
9. Download Apps
There are so many friend-making apps out there for teens that can help immensely. Take a look at the list below for ideas.
10. Be Their First Friend
You can also be a friend to your teen when they are in need, so don’t be rude to them about this or push them too hard. They will make friends when they are ready.
Top 5 Friend-Making Apps for Teens
I know it can sound scary to have your teen on apps to help them find friends, but in reality these apps are no more dangerous than the social media ones they already have. As parents, I am sure you have already spoken to your teens about the importance of internet safety, so I think they can handle these.
11. Spotafriend – “Spotafriend is the craziest and funniest app to meet new people around you.
With more than 2 million teenagers, you are sure to chat & meet with your next best friend. Start swiping now, you never know with who you will get a match!”
12. Yubo – “Welcome to the Yubo Community. We’re a social platform where you can find new friends through live streaming and authentic interactions. All based on your own interests! Sounds good? It’s about to get better. On Yubo, you can easily make friends – whether it’s from your local community or across the world and go social in no time through live chat… and it’s all for free! If you want extra advantages, you can power up with our Power Pack.”
13. Meetup – Meetup is a platform for finding and building local communities. People use Meetup to meet new people, learn new things, find support, get out of their comfort zones, and pursue their passions, together.
14. Swipr – Swipr is a global community committed to creating an online space where individuals can genuinely connect with new people and make new friends, securely and safely.
15. Facebook Groups –Â You can find Facebook groups about almost anything, so find one about something that you are passionate about!
More Tips On How to Help Your Teen Make Friends
Next, I wanted to give you some more examples of things your teen could do to make more friends. That way, when they say something like, “How am I even supposed to do this?” You can counter it with actual fun things to do with friends activity options from the list below!
16. Read at a coffee shop –Â This is such a cute way to meet people; it gives the main character energy if you ask me. Plus, they get to have a yummy coffee drink; it’s a win-win.
17. Go to the skate park –Â If your teen is passionate about skating, perhaps the best thing you can do for them is push them to go to the actual skate park.
18. Visit a bookstore –Â If you have an avid reader, there is no better place to meet people than a bookstore. The people who work at Barnes and Noble are always super nice.
19. Take a cooking class –Â If they are open to taking a cooking class, I say do it. It teaches them skills while also giving them the opportunity to meet people
20. Dance class –Â If your teen loves to dance then perhaps this is the best option.
21. Go to paintball –Â Paintball is so much fun; I just had to include it.
22. Go play basketball –Â For sporty teens, this is the best way to meet people
23. Join a Local Club –Â If this does not scare them too much, it is a surefire way to meet people.
And there you go, some of the best tips on how to help your teen make friends. This new world can be a hard place to navigate, but I am confident that you and your teen will figure it out together.
At the end of the day, I think the most important part of this list of tips is to open up a line of communication with your teen. That way, they can feel comfortable coming to you when they are struggling with anything. If they don’t have many friends, knowing they can come to you can be a serious help.
Now that your teen has some new friends, you may need some help coming up with ideas on what they can do with their time. I have you covered.
Mom to teens with lots of ideas and inspiration to share for travel, food, parties, school & fun!