Wellbeing Notices

Tips on Making Friends at School! 

Having good friends is great. It helps us get through the days and makes life interesting and fun. Thinking about how you can be a good friend is a first step in making friends. Also think about the places you could go to make friends. There are also some skills to practice and learn!  

Everyone deserves friends and finding it hard to make friends doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you. There are a couple of things you can do which might make the process of making friends a bit easier!

1. Thinking about Building Friendships

If you’re looking to make friends, it’s worthwhile thinking about things you can do that will make you the best friend you can be:

• Think about what you like to do, and what you believe. It’s really important when looking to have any friendship with another person that you’re aware of who you are. 
• Friendships come to those who wait. Don’t be too disappointed if your decision to make some new friends doesn’t result in heaps of friends straight away. Making friends is quite a slow process but if you’re patient, you’ll end up knowing people who are lucky to be your friend.
• Try not to talk about other people in a nasty way. Whether you’re a boy or a girl, it can sometimes be tempting to build friendships because you both don’t like someone else. Be aware talking about someone else behind their back can make you seem untrustworthy – who knows, they might think you will talk about them behind their back too. 
• Don’t forget who you are. Sometimes the urge to make friends can make us want to change who we are. You shouldn’t feel that you have to give up a part of yourself to make friends with others. Not only will this mean that your friendships aren’t genuine, you’ll be missing out on meeting people who think the real you is awesome

2. Places to Go

Beyond school there are some other places to find friends that you might not have thought of:

• Join a club or group that interests you like a sports club, dance club, walking group, etc.  Chances are there’ll be people there who you’ll get on with because, after all, you must like at least one thing in common!
• Start an after school program at a local community house near you! That way you can have fun learning something and meet other people your age at the same time!
• Volunteer. There’s so many good things that can come out of volunteering. Not only are you helping others, but there’s also a chance you’ll make friends while doing it. 
• Accept invitations when you get them! Try not to turn down invitations to parties or events. The more people you see, the more people you meet, the more friends you’re likely to make.
• Plan a friend event like a picnic with your family and invite others. You could have a theme, for example, a BBQ picnic, a fruit and sandwich picnic, a particular sport or game picnic, a musical picnic, a learn a dance lunch, or a sleepover with late night snacks.

3. Learning and Practicing Some Skills

Making friends can be difficult if you’re not too confident talking with others. A lot of people find it hard knowing what to talk about, and how to start! There are lots of things that can help, that just might give you the confidence to give it a go:Watch and learn from people who have lots of friends and see what they do and how they talk to others.

• Practice talking little by little with other people. 
• Learn to really listen to other people when they talk… don’t feel you have to talk all the time! 
  Good listeners make fantastic friends!
• Ask the person about themselves. What do they like doing? What did they do over the holidays/weekend/for their birthday?  What is the last movie they saw? Do they play a sport or go to a club? How do they feel about ……chocolate/school/sport? Etc.
• Use the person’s name when you talk with them and smile!