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For two people who focus on supporting kids with making and keeping friends, it may seem counter-intuitive for us to discuss ending a friendship. It is an important question that came up this summer and is worth considering when a friendship may be over. Friendships do end, though, and your child or teen may need or want to stop a friendship and not know how.
Sometimes friendships end with a bang. This can come in the form of a betrayal or argument, or something egregious enough that your child or teen no longer wants anything to do with the friendship. We would advise that your child or teen re-visit the thought of completely ending a friendship after he or she calms down. Good friends can be hard to find, so it may be worth looking at whether or not what happened is forgivable. There are times when it won't be forgivable. In this case, encourage your child to make a clean break of it (blocking numbers and social media, etc.) and if he or she has to deal with the ex-friend at school, to do his or her best to act respectfully while maintaining the end-of-friendship boundaries.
At our local social skills centers, we see parents bond with one another in our parent waiting rooms. We want to provide that same opportunity to our online friends.
Would you like to connect with other parents who have kids or teens who struggle socially?
Do you have a teen who only wants to play video games all day?
Are you concerned about your child's self-esteem?
Are you being excluded from mom activities due to your child's challenges?
Do you lie awake at night worrying about your son's or daughter's future?
Are you beginning to withdraw from friendships yourself?
Is your child's inability to manage strong emotions wearing you and your family down?
Do you feel as though no one understands, including extended family or your school system?
Does your teen or young adult child unload on you, leaving you to feel worried, helpless or exhausted?
We have created an online forum for parents to support one another. Social Success Central members receive:
We want to build a great parent forum for us to connect, support each other, and hear your thoughts and feedback to make sure we are delivering our best to you!
Membership in this private group is subscription-based for $9.95/month and requires a Facebook account.
You may also send us a request to join the group directly through Facebook and we will send you the membership link via private message.
A credit card is required at sign-up.
Membership automatically renews at $9.95/month and can be stopped at any time.
Donna Shea and Nadine Briggs are both accomplished social-emotional education specialists. They each facilitate friendship groups at their respective centers in Massachusetts. Both Donna and Nadine are parents of children with special needs.
Donna and Nadine offer consultation services for schools, parent groups, and human service agencies. They are seasoned public speakers who travel across the country to bring workshops and seminars to schools, conferences and other venues.
Donna and Nadine are certified in bullying prevention through the Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center and are creators of the How to Make & Keep Friends Social Success in School Bullying Prevention Initiative that is used to provide classroom training and team-building activities at many schools.
Donna and Nadine would love to hear from you or your child if you have feedback about our books. They are also happy to speak with you about providing programming for children in your local area or just to keep in touch with you about new books and materials.
