How to Improve Teenage Friendships
Teenage friendships are difficult; this is the age when interests change and people easily grow apart. School work, sports and dating can disrupt friendships, and teenagers do not have the same amount of time to spend with their friends as they did before. Work to maintain and improve your teenage friendships so you keep those friends for life. Prove yourself worthy of a teenage friendship by being honest, supportive and available.
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Instructions
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Make yourself available, within reason. School work, parental requirements, sports and dating take up a lot of time, but dedicating time to your friends is as important. Spend at least five minutes catching up in person after school or at least talk on the phone. Don't talk about yourself; allow your friend to share her day.
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Instill trust in your friendships. Never destroy a person's confidence in you by gossiping. It takes time to build trust, but it is a central part of strong friendships. The only reason to ever break a friend's trust is if he is in trouble and needs adult intervention. It's better to confide in the adult than lose your friend to drugs, alcohol or crime.
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Be considerate. Show friends you remember their birthdays by giving them a card, or tell them you're thinking about them by saying something like, "I was thinking about what you told me the other day..."
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Show an interest in your friend's daily activities. Show up unannounced when she competes in a sport or acts in a play. Ask how a big test went or offer to help her study for one.
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Be a strong role model. Teenage friendships can end because one person pressures the other into things he doesn't want to do. Don't take risks or involve yourself in illegal activities, and definitely don't pressure your friend to do so.
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References
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