Social Development

These tips will help you teach your teen the ins and outs of telephone message-taking.

Advice from a homeschooling expert on Will homeschooling effect my child's social skills?

Children can get upset when they don't have a "best" friend. You can help.

If a child is physically attractive, makes excellent grades, and is liked by her peers, does it matter that she has no close friends, or any one special friend?

Counseling may be called for when a child shows signs of serious distress over losing a friend.

Children may be very upset when a friendship ends.

A mother worries that her five-year-old's displays of affection toward his friends are inappropriate.

School peer-mediation programs are helpful in cases like this. A child can ask for a mediation with the student most responsible for the harassment.

Making friends away from school may be a good way to keep a child from feeling left out.

It is not unusual for an older boy to begin to become more selective about extracurricular activities.

Some children don't need to have intense, close friendships to be happy.

Find out what to do when the boy next door steals your child's friends excludes him from the group.

It's a big mistake when parents put down their children's friends.

When school is hurting a child's self-esteem, it's time to look for outside activities or groups he could join.

When harassment verges on physical assault, it is time to take action.

The shape and size of tables make no difference if children aren't taught manners and respect for one another.

It's not a good idea for a child to reject a gifted program at another school for social reasons.

Talk with the school counselor about a possible mediation between your son and his friend.