Get the best out of your friendships, with our handy Top Tips!
Time: 10 minutes
Outcome:
Learn about the Do’s and Don’ts of friendships, and how to cope when things don’t go right.
At a glance:
- Learn why friendships matter.
- Recognise what a good friend is.
- Evaluate your friendships.
- Learn to cope when friendships change.
Friends are unlike anyone else in your life. They are different from your family and your peers at school / college. Friends are people you have chosen to have in your life, and they have chosen you. They can be there to celebrate your successes and help you cope when we are feeling down.
Here are our Do’s, Don’ts and Don’t Knows of Friendship!
Do!
Friends are people who should support you, and make you feel good about yourself. They should:
- Support you when you are facing challenges
- Listen to you if you need to chat
- Include you in activities and outings
- Stick up for you
- Respect you, appreciate your uniqueness and never ask you change who you are
Don’ts!
Friends should be people that help you to achieve and be the best that you can be. They should never:
- Put you down or make you feel worthless
- Make fun of you or aspects of your life
- Put you in danger or make you feel unsafe
- Always take things from you, never giving you anything in return
- Aren’t happy for you when good things happen
Don’t Knows!
Friendships, like all relationships are complicated. They can be difficult to understand and will have problems every now and then. It can be hard to know what to do, but we’ve got some top tips to help!
- It is okay to not get on with people! We can’t be friends with everyone we meet, and that’s okay!
- We don’t have a choice over how we feel, but we can choose how we act. If there is someone you meet, that you don’t like, it’s important to still treat them with respect! You can get along with people and spend time with them, without being their best friend.
- Everyone disagrees and argues from time to time, and it can be difficult to know how to fix things when you fall out with a friend. Start by telling them how you feel – not what you think they have done wrong, but how you feel. Listen to how they feel and accept that you both made mistakes. Move on from it, because at the end of the day, your friendship will be what is most important!
As we said before, relationships and friendships are complicated. They can be confusing and sometimes you might not know what to do. In those situations, it is important to be honest with your friend. Tell them how you are feeling and explain that you don’t know what to do. This will help both of you to solve the problem or situation and get you back on track!
If you are in a friendship or relationship, where you are feeling unsafe and unable to talk remember to reach out to a trusted adult for support. For more information on who to contact in an emergency click here.
Treasure your friendships and remember to check back with our ‘Do’s, Don’ts and Don’t Knows’ if you are ever in doubt!
