If you feel that your teenage daughter has very few friends or perhaps none at all, this can be very concerning for parents. If your daughter is struggling to make friends or to socialize, then we have put together some suggestions for you to consider and hopefully improve his delicate situation for you and your teenage daughter.
We’re talked to parents and teens and put together this helpful resources for what you can do. This is based on parents who have had great results in helping their teenagers make new friends, and also based on information from teenagers who have shared the best way for their parents to get through to them and help them.
Sometimes, just finding a few hobbies for a teenage girl is enough to help them make some friends, but that’s not always the case.
What To Do When Your Teenage Daughter Has No Friends
Make Sure Your Teenager is Involved at School
Encourage your teenage daughter to make more or new friends by keeping up with her favorite after-school activities or lunchtime clubs. If she has been avoiding these, help her to pick a new interest to meet like-minded friends.
Has Your Daughter Changed Activities or Interests?
Going through adolescence often means that our tastes and interests change. If your teenage daughter has no friends, reflect on when she last had a group of friends and where and when did she meet them and spend time with them?
It may be simply that they have drifted due to new interests, in which case she could text them to check in and take it from there.
Check Out Her Main Interests
If your teenage daughter seems to have no friends or says she doesn’t, then is it that one of her hobbies is very isolating? Is she sitting upstairs gaming for hours? Or perhaps drawing? If so, encourage her to perhaps join actual gaming or art clubs to meet new friends.
Seek Out an Adult Ally For Your Teenage Daughter
It can be a great idea to seek support and advice from someone like a school counselor as your teenage daughter navigates this tricky time of feeling she has no friends. They will provide some wisdom and time for your daughter, as well as being less emotionally involved than you are as her parent.
Encourage Your Teenager Daughter to Be Herself to Make New Friends
It might sound a bit cliche, but we parents know the real secret to making good friends is being yourself. Talk with your daughter about what you think her strengths are to give her a confidence boost.
Why not come up with a positive affirmation for her to say out loud each morning, such as “I build strong and solid friendships”?
If someone tries to be a chameleon and changes who they are to fit in, they might make more friends, but somebody who puts themself out there as themselves is going to make better friendships because they can be themselves and they’ll attract people who like them for who they are.
Your Relationship is Vital
Keeping your parent-daughter relationship as warm, caring and open as possible will help your teenage daughter feel better if she has no or very few friends. It also means she is more likely to talk to you about how she is feeling and also to let you help her make some new friends.
Apps to Support Your Teenage Daughter if She Feels She Has No Friends
There are numerous apps out there to help young people with their self-confidence, mental health and emotional well-being. Taking a look together at an app such as Headspace can be a great way to open up a conversation with your daughter about how she is feeling.
Offer Practical Support
Make it easier for your daughter to forge new friendships by offering rides home to others at school clubs and other activities. This can mean that your daughter can feel more comfortable chatting with a new acquaintance with you there in the background.
How Can I Help My Daughter Feel Better About Herself?
Getting involved in some kind of volunteering can be a confidence boost for anyone, especially teenagers. Helping others makes them feel valued and better about themselves, especially if they feel they have no friends.
They may also meet some other young people involved in the service who could end up being new friends for your teenage daughter.
Check-in With Yourself
Talk to your partner and close friends or family about this. It is natural to be concerned as everyone wants their child to be happy. However, check that you aren’t holding onto some past experiences of your own about friendships and loneliness.
It may be that you felt sad and friendless in high school, but your teenage daughter may just need a bit of help to foster new friendships.
Online Friends Can be Useful
Help your teenage daughter find new friends by reaching out to people online when gaming or on blogs or social media. Please supervise your daughter and check in regularly so that she feels safe online and knows how to report any issues.
This should all be done in moderation and remember that social media can sometimes have negative effects, so support your teenage daughter closely with this.
My Teenage Daughter Struggles to Socialize
If your daughter feels anxious in social situations, then she may benefit from speaking to a professional about this. However, you must make sure any expert you take her to see is a specialist in working with adolescents.
Otherwise, your teenager may feel she is not being listened to properly and the trust will break down. There are various things that can have an effect on a daughter feeling confident, outgoing, and being able to form friendships. If she’s struggling, sometimes some counseling can help a lot.
Should I Intervene if My Daughter Has No Friends?
This depends on how your daughter is acting and feeling. If she seems happy with no friends, then perhaps just try one of the above suggestions as a start. If she is unhappy and lonely with no friends, then perhaps work through the list together.
Help her understand that it’s not something that will change overnight, and even people with a lot of friendships are dealing with hardships like being overwhelmed with drama and interpersonal issues. There’s a good balance in there somewhere, help her find it!
Tread Carefully to Avoid Hurting Your Daughter’s Feelings
Your teenage daughter may be very hurt, worried or ashamed that she has no or very few friends. Approach any conversation about it with compassion and sensitivity.
It also may be that she doesn’t care that much about friendships at present. Try to explore that with her in case she is masking her real feelings about it.
If she’s not unhappy about not having a huge social circle, and she just wants to focus on other things, and she has a close friend or two at least, that’s probably not a huge issue – as long as she’s able to make friends when she wants to.
When To Take Other Action
If you think your daughter is suffering from low mood, anxiety or depression then you should seek professional support for her. It may be that her loneliness is adding to underlying emotional or mental health issues, so she will need expert help to navigate through this.
If she’s tried to make friends and hasn’t been able to, or hasn’t taken the steps to try yet, help her understand that friendships are a lifelong process.
She’ll have opportunities to meet new people at many different stages in life, and she’ll have to decide which friendships are worth working harder to maintain, and which ones are better left in the previous stage of life.
My Daughter Says She Has No Friends
It is important to be sensitive to your teenage daughter’s feelings when deciding how you will help her with her lack of friends.
If she is very unhappy, then act quickly to help her make at least one new friend. If she has just lost touch with old friends, then help her to get back on track if she needs some support from you, even if it is just a ride to sports practice or a band night. If you ever worry that your daughter has no friends, hopefully this resource will be helpful.
Now, you’ll have a better understanding of what to do when you catch yourself, “What can I do? My daughter has no friends.”
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