We all want our kids to be accepted, included, and make special connections with their peers.
In her upcoming bookHow To Talk To Kids About Anything,Dr.
The Controlleris bossy, rude, and gives your child ultimatums.
They might say You cant do that or Give it to me or I wont be your friend.
Good friends dont make you do anything.
You get to decide how you’ve got the option to be the best version of yourself.
The Flakecancels plans, leaves your child hanging, breaks promises, or excludes your child from plans.
They might say, I forgot to call you back/text/meet up or I didnt get your message.
We need to be able to trust our friends.
We all mess up once in a while, but perpetually flaking leaves us guessing and uncomfortable.
The Two-Faced Backstabbergossips and talks behind someones back but is nice to them in person.
What they do with you, they often do to you.
The User/Takeralways asks for favors, but is unavailable to help others.
They dump their feelings, but arent a good listener, and can deplete the energy of friends.
A friendship isnt about one person.
You shouldnt feel like you are running on empty and never being heard.
The Hurtful Kiddermakes jokes that hurt your feelings and excuses it by saying they were just kidding.
They might say Youre so sensitive, or Cant you take a joke?
or Just kidding, I didnt mean it!
Support your child by telling them:
A joke that makes you feel bad is not a good joke.
While humor is fun in a friendship, kidding at the expense of others is toxic.
When good friends know they hurt you, they apologize and change their ways right away.
Its so hard to watch your child stay in a friendship that you know is toxic!
Silverman also suggests role-playing with your child to help them practice responding to the toxic friend dynamic.
Dad, I dont like when you yell at me, she says.
