Making and maintaining friendships is something that you’ll do throughout your whole life. For some people, making friends comes naturally and easily. For others it can be scary or intimidating.

Friendships are important because friends do so many things for us. They:

• Provide fun and excitement
• Give advice
• Provide companionship and recreation
• Are loyal
• Provide stability during times of stress or transition
• Teach us things like: conflict resolution, cooperation and reciprocity (give and take)

Everybody brings his or her own strengths to a friendship. What are some of yours? Talking to other friends and to your family can help you identify the strengths you bring to a relationship. These may include:

• Being honest and dependable
• Being positive about yourself and others
• Doing your share of talking and listening
• Accepting individual differences
• Being respectful of thoughts and feelings
• Being non-judgemental
• Sharing interests and skills

You may have questions or concerns about making and keeping friends, being separated from friends or having a friendship come to an end. For help with these questions, keep reading, talk to a trusted adult or call Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.

Last checked: March 2010