We all want our children to have great friendships, and it feels tortuous when they’re lonely or friendless, but are we missing one of the most important ways to help them? If we’re not good at making and maintaining friends ourselves, who will our babies learn their skills from?
In this episode of Parenting Teenagers Untangled, I’m joined by author, broadcaster, and founder of The Friendship Lab, Sheridan Voysey, to unpack why 20–25% of adults now say they have no close friends, how that impacts our teens’ mental health, and what we can actually do about it.
"There is no silver bullet to the human condition, but friendship would have to come fairly close to it."
We explore the five stages of friendship, why busyness, smartphones, and constant mobility are eroding our connections, and the simple, intentional steps parents can take to help their tweens and teens build deep, lasting relationships.
Whether you or your child are struggling to find “your people,” stuck on the surface, or hiding behind screens, this conversation will give you practical language, science-backed insight, and real-life ideas for modelling healthy friendships at home.
If you care about your teen’s - and your own - confidence, wellbeing, resilience, and sense of belonging, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.
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