Having good friendships when growing up is associated with better resilience. Having good friends helps children and young people:

• in times of stress
• to deal with stress
• to grow in confidence and improve their ability to make good decisions
• to contribute positively to society.

Friendships can be hard to establish for some children and young people. If a child isn’t confident they may find it difficult to talk to others. Finding children and young people with similar interests to them can make this a little easier. as they have shared interest and something to talk about more confidently.

Moving areas or changing schools can be a difficult time for a child. They may be leaving very close and important friendships behind and feel fearful that they may not be able to establish these kind of friendships in a different town or school. Most importantly try to be available to listen and empathise with your child.

It isn’t always possible to fix every friendship difficulty your child experiences, but listening and understanding them is important.

Think about how you, as a parent or carer, support your child’s friendships. Do you allow them to have friends over to your home? Do you help them to travel to visit friends or take them to groups or activities where their friendship groups are?

There are articles and videos available in the Moodspark area of the Kent Resilience hub. You may want to check out some of these to help your understanding of how friendships can impact positively or negatively on your child’s emotional health. These resources may also be useful to share with your child.