Helping my son make friends

[Teresanova]

Hey everyone, I'm new to this group. I'm actually new to joining any kind of parent group. I just had another sleepless night. I'm worried about my son jacob he is 7 and has gone through so many struggles this year. Almost every day after school he comes to me sad about not making friends and standing alone on playground watching other kids play. I'm struggling and want to just magically fix it. And I know I cant. I live in the Chandler area here in AZ. If any of you parents have a child similar in age and going through the same thing let's get together and introduce our kids. Or if you have any suggestions for me please feel free to message me.

[redesigninglisa]

I wonder if there is a school counselor you can talk to. My son's school offers a friendship group to learn social skills. It's so hard when our kids have trouble making friends. My heart goes out to you and your son.

[AngelamarieQ]

My heart goes out to both of you. ADHD is truly heartbreaking for all in the family, but it can be manage with the right treatment and outlets. Is your son in psychotherapy and/or medication? Does he have a 504 plan at school? The school psychologist should be able to help you address this issue. Try enrolling your son in classes/activities he enjoys outside school ( theater, martial arts, soccer, playing an instrument). Not only he would gain confidence doing what he likes but also, meet new friends that won’t label him as “weird” . Unfortunately, that’s the term kids use often to describe kids that behaved in peculiar ways like our children. Talk to your Pediatritian. He might know of groups in the area as well.

Best of luck

[Alex1016]

My 7 yrs old had the same problem making friends with his classmates because of incidents of impulsive behavior. Most of the kids in his class are not friendly toward him so he started playing with kids from another classroom and they became his play friends at recess. I know one of the moms and I started making efforts to keep the kids close, like initiate play dates after school.

[WendyKirkpatrick]

My son is grown now. When my son was 7, you could be describing my son as well. It is so heartbreaking to have a child whose fondest wish in life is to have even one friend. Friends will come around slowly but it will take time and as a mother or father, it is so painful to see your child be unhappy and lonely because he has a condition. One thing that helped was to put him on the local soccer team. A group activity helped him very much. He made some friends and had parties to go to and became good at a sport. We got great information from a book or two regarding behavior modification to help train him to better interact with kids. It took a long time and his adolescence was so hard for all of us. You have many new friends in this group who understand. Best wishes to your child and family.

[Mateo00]

My son has a hard time as well and we do roleplay

[Onthemove1971]

What about a team sport, great way to bond with kids and then friendships can grow from there.