Making friends is a life skill that we all should learn. However, for children, this may need a little prodding on your part as they can be naturally timid. One great avenue for your child to make friends is in school. And as an advocate for Child Education International, we also believe that having great relationships while studying can improve a child’s learning potential.

If you also partner with us at our Literacy Foundation International Incorporated in Houston, Texas, USA, you can make a way for your child to learn about children from other nations, especially Nigeria. The better socialized your child is, the wider their opportunities are both locally and abroad.

With that, we would like to share with you some helpful tips on how you can encourage your little one to make new friends when they’re in school:

• Set an example of how to socially engage with others – Even when you don’t acknowledge it, your child will always be influenced by you. The way you interact or make friends with new people can be their guide on how to start making friends on their own.
• Grab an opportunity from your child’s special interests – For instance, if they enjoy swimming, you can take them to swimming classes. There, they can have a chance to meet other children, and you can initiate a way for them to talk. Simple steps matter.
• Observe and understand your child’s social abilities – Some children can easily open up to others while some need more warming up. Whatever your child’s preference is, start a workaround there.
• Try playing make-friends at home – For instance, if you’re about to enroll your preschooler in their school, you can practice making friends at home. Roleplaying is a simple exercise that enables your child to have a semblance of how it is to socialize in the real setting.
• Remember to appreciate your child’s effort in making friends – Praise them when they smile at another child or when they say thanks to the store attendant. These little acts of socialization, when reinforced, can help inspire their knowledge that they can do it on their own.
• Open opportunities where your child can meet with other children their age – If you have fellow parents whose children are the same age as yours, you can arrange a playdate so they can have something to get started with.

There are definitely great rewards in making good and strong connections starting when your child is young.

This is one of our goals as a non-profit organization in Houston, Texas. We want to provide an opportunity for Nigerian children to have a fruitful and productive time in their schools not only to make friends, but also to build a good academic foundation.

For this, we are knocking on your kind hearts to sponsor our advocacies at Chief Stephen O. Nwankwo Children’s Literacy Foundation International Incorporated. To learn further about our other projects and advocacies, ask us right away.