Customer Reviews

How Kids Make Friends: Secrets for Making Lots of Friends No Matter How Shy You Are

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

With an 8-year old son learning how to make friends,and handle new situations at school, I was searching for a book to help him along. This book had suggestions like "smile" and "give people compliments" and I didn't think it was appropriate at all for the issues an 8-year old faces at school. It was way too shallow and didn't address real issues. I did buy another book at the same time from Amazon that was much better - "Good Friends are Hard to Find" and I thought it addressed very specific issues and gave great advice on how to handle each one.

My 8-year old daughter came home from school one day, more bubbly than usual. She said that her teacher had a copy of "How Kids Make Friends", she read the book to the class, and the children actually took turns at the front of the class, using the ideas in the book. My shy daughter feels much more confident that she will be able to easily make friends, now that she knows how. I bought the book for her and her sister, so they can practice with each other.

I bought this book for my 9 yr. old son who isn't shy but has trouble relating to other kids. I like that this book encourages him to focus on other people, not on himself. (We can all learn that lesson!) It was a good conversation starter for us. I liked the reference to Dale Carnegie's book, "How to Win Friends and Influence People" which is a book my sons have seen my husband and I read several times! I do however think the book is a bit shallow when it promises kids will "make all the friends they want" and that kids can "automatically make friends". I think those statements should be a bit tempered. Overall, I liked the book.

When I read the first few parts of the book, I thought it would be very helpful. But I was wrong. First off, its very undetailed and doesn't explain much about the process of making friends. Also, its unrealistic, especially for middle schoolers. I say this because they make it sound like: Compliment a person and they'll be your friend. Or: Smile and they will like you. I don't think thats very helpful. It might be okay for very young kids starting one of the lower grades, but definetly not middle schoolers or even some elementary schoolers.

I couldn't wait to take this book home to my shy child. She really needed the help that was offered in this book (she's a shy 8 year old), and has read the book over and over again. I role play with her, and she is gaining confidence. I just wish that this book was available when I was growing up. I recommend it to everyone (even adults can learn by the principles in this book!).

Having nothing deeper to say than "You should like yourself because it's better than not liking yourself," the author happily inflicts such circular inanities on us as: "You should always try to do the right thing. If you call kids names, start fights, or somehow hurt others, you won't feel good about yourself because you know that you are doing something that is wrong."

Our two children (ages 10 & 8) had trouble making friends, having rarely invited anyone home to play after school. Their grandmother bought the book & gave it to them almost a month ago. We read it together, and my son & daughter practiced some of the activities the author suggested on each other. Since then, they've both invited new friends to the house, and I already see a difference in their confidence. I only wish I knew about "How Kids Make Friends" years ago!

This is a book for kids who really are on the verge of making friends. Who, in reality, probably wouldn't have that much trouble making friends with just a LITTLE bit of effort. Unfortunately, my son isn't one of those kids. He is ADHD with learning and speech difficulties. The kids in his class have pretty much decided that he isn't for them. If he was to ask one of them to come over his house, they would probably say no. Why wasn't that covered in the book? This book is far to simplistic for kids who have real problems making friends.

Shortly after receiving this book, my wife & daughter read it together. At 7 years old and quite shy, she had trouble making friends in 2nd grade.

It's been three weeks since we bought the book, and she still insists on reading it a couple times a week. We believe it gives her confidence to go to school the next morning and interact with her classmates.

My wife insists that our daughter has a new outlook when it comes to school. She has been more playful, and talks more when she comes home. We hope these results continue!

I'm 18, I got this book today and already have made some friends, this book is excellent, it has cool pictures in it, and helpful hints on what to and what not to do, this is possibly the most helpful book i've read, and I recomend this to anyone who is having help making friends.