Difficult to lead boy friendship as a mom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We threw a bunch of old building materials in the backyard and my son and his friends do crazy stuff with it. I think with boys this age they want to do things that are exciting and allow them to show off their skills without being micromanaged by grownups. Sports and video games can do that, but also anything building related seems to be a hit.

Now that is a cool idea! Your kid is actually learning something.

[Anonymous]

Stereotypical boys like games. Card games, board games, and escape rooms count.

They also like to see what they can do. Anything a little hard or edgy works. During the last ice storm, my child and his friends thought it was so much fun to break ice. They double-loved the praise they got for it.

It’s easier for a parent who understands to facilitate these friendships. I saw one dad playing soccer with a group of boys. They were loving it.

[Anonymous]

My son isn't sporty and loves video games but for him, Scouts is his big social activity. They meet every weekend!

[Anonymous]

My son has friends over and they spend most of their time playing with toys. This typically involves whatever toys he has in the house. I don't do any specific planning and I don't let him play games online with strangers. He can play with friends in our house, in person.

[Anonymous]

I have 2 boys. They are now in high school. They both play sports. Around age 10, both boys did chess. My older son is also into chess, science, art, biking and fishing.

Age 10 is a little old for parents to be involved. We moved when my older son was in 4th grade. He is a quiet kid by nature. We threw a birthday party and invited all the boys in the class and surprisingly all of them came. He is athletic but more of a nerdy kid.

I recommend scouts. Both my boys did scouts. The parents we know the best are the ones from scouts.

[Anonymous]

Don’t micromanage you idiot

[Anonymous]

Pp here. I have a 9yo DD. Lots of friend shifting this year. There are some moms I like (with boys) and we have gone to the mall together or to go to one of those big entertainment centers with climbing and trampolines. So you can make adult friends and still try to make plans.

I have also invited some kids over for a play date.

When my sons were younger, parents would invite my boys (not together) to festivals, playground or other outings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not know what boys like except video games or sports. I do not play any of them. I want to help 10 year old boy to navigate closer boy friendship, but it seems like many boys that age navigate by themselves already. Before it is too late before he is going to middle school in a year plus, what can a mom help? He has casual friends, but they do not meet outside of school except at sport practice/game or scout meetings. Should I let him play robolax or minecraft with other kids online? I have been hesitating about this. There will be an upcoming class meeting next week, and I will bump into many parents from his class. Want to ask in advance here on the forum to see maybe I could take advantage of that opportunities to catch up or follow up with other parents starting from there, any tips? DH does not have any desire to talk to or make friends with any parents, so he is out of the picture.

Why do you want to help him do this? Has he asked for help? Have you noticed a problem?

[Anonymous]

My son does not do video games at home. Yes, this means he has less to talk to friends about, but when they come over, they play outside, they play board games, they talk, sometimes they even do arts and crafts.

[Anonymous]

I recognize this mom's writing style - she's been posting about her son and all of her worries for years. I know it's her, because her son is the same age as mine. She is worried because (1) she thinks being an immigrant will make it harder for her son to make friend and (2) she has severe anxiety. Her son is fine.