My guest today is Julietta Skoog, my co-founder and the Early Years Lead here at Sproutable. We’re talking about middle school friendships today.  

We discuss established elementary school friendships changing in middle school. Julietta shares a recent story about her own middle schooler and when it’s appropriate for parents to get involved in friendship drama. We talk about the difference between belonging & fitting in, coaching your kid(s) through discomfort, and how important it is to acknowledge and validate how hard our middle schoolers are working. We end by getting into how we can encourage new friendships & nurture good friendships. 

Takeaways from the show

• Middle school is messy! 
• Your sweet, innocent child being exposed to new things 
• Middle school is a great, lower-stakes time to make mistakes 
• Reflecting on your own middle school experiences & memories to find compassion for your adolescent 
• Kids need at least one or two good friends they can count on 
• Coaching our kids through discomfort 
• When is the time for parents to get involved in middle school drama? 
• Listen, acknowledge, validate, believe, and encourage your middle schooler 
• Middle schoolers need to practice decision making before high school 
• Encouraging new friendships and nurturing good friendships

For more show notes, including transcripts, visit our website here.

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