How do I Help my Son to Make Friends

[Shai63]

My son just turned 8 years this month. He is doing fine in school, but has problem making friends with same age or older boys. He always tunes with girls same or older and mostly younger girls (3 or 4 years old). He does not play football or any physical gaes, but plays with cars, lego building blocks, likes to watch NationalGeography/ Discovery channel other than cartoon channels and some games (very little). He talks a lot and people say that he talks like me (I am a single mother and he has not seen much of his father). Most of the boys of his age will play football or any other sports and he will just say no to them. He has his toys and try to tell other boys about his toys and most of them will ignore him.

This has made him have very less friends and now he is asking me about not having more friends. And he says he is afraid of playing because whenever he plays he cannot even get ball once and he ends up loosing all the time. How can I help him?

[RockRose]

I hope you check out scouts,  too.  Swimming lessons are great,  and fun,  but he's very likely to run into boys with very similar personalities (whose parents are also trying to help them find friends) in Cub Scouts.

Best wishes.

[Shai63]

Thanks for the comment, it really helped. My son likes similar activities, I just enrolled him to a holiday swimming class. I hope it works well for him.

Thanks anyway.

[RockRose]

My youngest son as like him.  He's now 13,  and has lots of guy friends - they don't play competitive sports with him,  but they swim,  hike,  bike around,  etc.

Have you tried scouts?  Your son would probably find a lot of like minded boys there.