Key Outcome
Your child will learn to focus on what works in a challenging friendship.
Materials
- Video with Dana!
- Piece of paper and pen/markers
Instructions
- Watch the video found here with your child.
- Explain to them that it’s very normal that kids do not always click with everyone in their class or school. Share a story of a tricky friendship in your life.
- Ask them, “Can you think of a challenging friendship?”
- Empathise and remind them they are strong and there will be times throughout their whole lives where they will be in situations where personalities clash. Say, “This is an opportunity for you to start practising how to make the best of these tricky relationships!”
- Remind them of the WWW of Friendship strategy by saying, “You can make this friendship less challenging by doing activities that bring out the best in the friendship (what works) and less of the activities that spark Friendship Fires® (what doesn’t work).”
- Draw a WWW chart on your paper like the one in the video. Go through this with your child, getting them to list activities that feel okay and ones that don’t.
- Then, ask them: “What’s a good plan? What do you think Dana’s advice would be?” Encourage them to come up with a plan themselves. Avoid the temptation to suggest a plan for them, as you want to empower them to make healthy choices and own their behavior. Be a Friendship Coach!
NOTE: In the most challenging friendships, kids will sometimes have a hard time listing any examples of when the friendship works. However, we can ALWAYS find something. For example, maybe the only positive interaction they feel okay with is being in the same room/building as the other person. URSTRONG Schools teach children that, although kids do not have to be friends with everyone, they need to be kind to everyone. So, help your child find ways they can still show kindness – while honouring their boundaries.