No matter how old we are, we value good friendships. Even at a young age, friendships are important to us- but the closer we get to the teenage years the more valuable our friendship become. 

Some of our children seem to instinctively know how to be a good friends and how to form true friendships, but other children and teens need a little bit of help navigating this part of their lives.

15 Friendship Rules

1. Spend time with people because they are kind to you not just because they are popular with others.
2. You must first be a friend if you want to find a friend.
3. Hang out with friends who make good choices- others will assume that those are your choices, too.
4. If you are upset with your friend, talk to your friend about whatever it is that is bothering you rather than talking about your friend to others.
5. Ask your friend if he or she would like the last cookie or the last piece of pizza rather than grabbing it for yourself.
6. Never spread gossip about your friend even when he or she has made you angry.
7. Don’t post pictures on social media to purposely make a friend feel left out. Remember that you will eventually be the one left out.
8. You can educate your friends about healthy choices, but the only person you can control is yourself.
9. Stay away from social media when you are angry. Your anger may not last, but what you say in your posts will never go away. You may gain virtual friends on social media, but you can also lose the real ones this way.
10. True friends will like the real you. You don’t need to sacrifice your integrity in order to “fit” in with the crowd. If they do not like you for who you are, the friendship was not meant to be.
11. Be kind to everyone you meet. You never know when you are meeting your future best friend.
12. Always treat other people with the kindness and respect that you want in return.
13. If someone threatens to end the friendship unless you do as they please, it is not a friendship worth saving.
14. Focus on the quality of your friendship rather than the quantity of your friends. Having a friendship with one or two loving friends is much more valuable than having twenty friends you can’t trust.
15. If you consistently try to be the best person that you can be, regardless of the actions of others- you will attract the same type of people.

To read other parenting or relationship posts- or to get some daily inspiration check out Kristin’s blog at www.letlifeinpractices.com. Kristin is a licensed psychotherapist- counseling children, teens, and adults.

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