School can pull everyone in a thousand directions. Here’s how to fight back and keep real connections alive for both you and your kids.
The school year is in full swing, and it’s time to get back into a routine and have some structure in our lives after another long, glorious summer. Back to school can also be hectic with extracurricular activities, football games, and other school things. It’s easy for both kids and parents to lose connection with their friends because life is so busy. Sure, your kids see their friends daily, and you may wave to one of their moms in the carpool line, but is that truly staying connected? Here are some tips to help you and your kids stay connected to their friends during the school year.
Why Is It Important to Stay Connected?
Staying connected with friends at school is crucially important for your child’s well-being. Interacting with friends helps with social support and emotional well-being. The same goes for adults. A strong bond with friends is important for everyone, no matter how young or old you are.
Ideas for Kids
Make Time for Friends-It’s important that your kids make time for their friends amidst homework and other activities. They can hang out together for an hour after school, have a fifteen-minute video call, or go to the football game together on Friday night. As long as your kids are making time for their friends and vice versa, it doesn’t matter what they do, how big or small.
Use Technology- As we all know, technology can be a blessing and a curse in our world. Let your kids use apps and other platforms to stay connected to friends with the same interests and through communities. For example, they can play a game together online or join a community for kids/teens that revolves around their interests, like STEM, reading, or cooking.
Some apps for teens to check out include Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Hoop, Yubo, and Houseparty. Be sure to check out these apps yourself before allowing your child to join to make sure they are age appropriate and also appropriate for your child’s maturity level.
Send a Quick Text-Sometimes just sending a quick text can make a difference. It’s easy for kids to get caught up in their lives and what they’re doing because they’re kids. So if you know they haven’t seen a friend in a while, remind them to send a quick ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’ to help stay connected.
Plan Joint Activities
You can plan all kinds of joint activities for your kids to help them connect with their friends outside of school.
Movie Night—Invite your kid’s friends over for a movie night. Provide pizza, snacks, and beverages. Ahead of time, choose a few approved movies and add them to your playlist.
Picnic-Invite your kids’ friends to go on a picnic in the park. Supply sandwiches, chips, and beverages, and have everyone bring a dish or dessert.
Group Outing-Invite your kids’ friends for a night out at the escape room, VR lounge, or the movies. You can also invite them for an afternoon out at the children’s museum (depending on age), park, or playground.
A Day at the Library—This is a great idea for little ones. The library always has something going on. Invite two or three of your child’s friends to story time and see what else is going on that will appeal to younger ages.
Ideas for Adults
Why Should Adults Stay Connected to Friends?
Adults have much more on their plates than kids, so staying connected to friends’s even more important. You can count on these people when you get in a pinch and the people you enjoy hanging out with most. Sometimes you simply want to talk to another adult about things only they can understand.
How to Stay Connected with Friends as an Adult
Set Weekly Check-ins-Weeks fly by fast; before you know it, it’s Friday, and the week is gone. Talk to your friends and set up a specific day of the week to check in with them. It doesn’t have to be the same day for everyone since people have different schedules, but try to pinpoint a specific day with each friend to connect.
Chill in the Car Before Carpool-Meet with a friend in the school parking lot an hour before school lets out, and chill out in the car until the kids get out of school and the carpool line starts. This will give you a solid hour of ‘you’ time to catch up before the kids leave school.
Meet for Coffee- If you can, meet a friend (or friends) for coffee after dropping your kids off at school. Or schedule a coffee meetup on the weekend.
Go to Lunch-If you’re married, leave your kids with your spouse or significant other and meet your friends for lunch. Single parent? Hire a babysitter for a few hours or leave your kids with a family member.
Send a Message/Meme—During the week, send a quick message or meme to your friends to help them stay connected.
Create an Online Group-Create a group online where your friends can meet virtually during the week if need be. Maybe someone has a problem they need to talk about or big news to share and doesn’t want to wait until they can meet in person. This is also a great idea if you live in a part of the country that has harsh, long winters, and it’s hard to get out to go places. Overall, try to meet in person as much as possible, but having a backup plan is always great.
Watch the Game-Meet up with friends at a restaurant to watch the game, or have a party at your house.
Do the Holidays Together-Nothing brings people together like the holidays. Go Christmas shopping with friends, have a cookie swap, or have a wrapping party together.
You could also get together on a Saturday and have a Christmas movie watch party together. You could make a pot of soup with rolls and have your friends bring something to share. Another option would be to see a classic Christmas movie on the big screen. Sometimes, small, locally owned theaters will feature Christmas movies like White Christmas, Holiday Inn, or It’s a Wonderful Life on the big screen during the holidays for a limited time.
The school year has just started, but it never hurts to make a plan to keep in touch. Choose your favorite way to communicate and then make a list of people you want to stay connected with. Next, talk to your friends and set a specific time to connect with each person. Make sure you add it to the calendar on your phone with a reminder so you don’t forget. If you can share a digital calendar with your friends, that would work too. Also, talk to your kids about who they want to stay connected to and make a plan for them, too. Overall, remember to be flexible. Sometimes life happens and plans get canceled, and that’s okay. You can always try again another time.
Staying connected in our busy lives is more important than ever. With the tips above, you and your kids will have a happier, more connected school year.
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Goodboy Picture Company
