5 Simple Tips to Help Children Make New Friends at School

Starting a new school can be an exciting yet nerve-wracking experience for children. One of biggest challenges your child might face is making new friends. However, there is an array of things you can do together at home or at the beginning of term to build your child’s confidence and support them in developing friendships.  

Friendships provide a sense of belonging and support for children, in turn, aiding their social and emotional development.  

Tops Tips for Making Friends at Primary School  

1. Encourage Participation in Activities

Having your child be involved in clubs during and after school can be one of the best ways to meet new pupils and develop new friendships. Whether it’s breakfast club, a lunch playtime club, or an after-school sports club or games club.  

Activities provide natural opportunities for children to interact with their peers and find something to bond over. Encourage your child to be courageous and try out different activities to not only build on their confidence and independence, but to also form connections with others.  

2. Teach Friendly Conversation Starters

Starting conversations with new people can be scary whatever your age. Sometimes, children may need a little nudge getting conversations started. Teaching simple and friendly ‘opening lines’ can make a big difference in their social development.  

Phrases like, “Hi, my name is Millie, what’s your name?”, “Can I please play with you?”, “I like your school bag”, “Would you like to play with me on this?” can help children open the door to new friendships. Feel free to role-play these scenarios at home to give your child some practice and build up their confidence for when they face a playground of new faces.  

3. Catch Up with Your Child Everyday

It is important to make time everyday to have a chat with your child and catch up on all the school activities. Bedtime is a great time to have a chat and have them tell you about everything that went well that day and what they are looking forward to the next day. This way, you can help guide them through any tricky situations.

For example, you might learn that your child is finding it difficult to make new friends. Many schools have a “buddy system” that you can find out more about by contacting the school. This way your child might be paired with someone from their class to support one another. Alternatively, they might have another system in place to assist children who have no-one to play with.

You can also ask your school if there is a quiet play area, maybe your child would find it easier making friends in a quieter setting and not during the rush of the playground.

4. Encourage Kindness and Empathy Early On

In most circumstances, children only begin forming solid friendships well into primary school, however, you can encourage your child to think and care about others from a much earlier age. Acts of kindness, such as offering a compliment, helping a peer with a task such as tidying up or sharing games and turn-taking with peers can go a long way in developing friendships. Practice at home by playing simple games or having your child assist you in a task, this helps your child’s ability to consider others, be kind and maintain friends.

5. Resolving Squabbles and Naming Feelings

Having the ability to resolve conflict is a vital skill for making friends and maintaining relationships. However, falling out with a friend is a very normal experience in primary school. It is best to take a back seat and have your child be able to work out their differences with their friends. It would be beneficial to help your child in naming their feelings and understanding why those feelings come about.  

For example, your child might have knocked down a toy because their friend had snatched something out of their hand. Helping your child understand their emotions by naming them can be a great beneficial tool… ‘I think you knocked down that toy because you felt upset that Sam took your toy out of your hand’.  

Encourage them to be considerate by asking questions such as ‘how do you think Sam felt when that happened? How would that make you feel?’  

Making friends can be a fun experience while transitioning to primary school. These simple tips such as practicing conversation starters, having open conversations, and participating in activities can be a great gateway for your child to start developing bonds with their classmates. To discover toys to help with social interactions, explore our social skills toys.

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