WWYD? 11 yr old needs friend making oppurtunities.....

[lilypond]

This might be a little long....

My 11 yr old is at a very critical stage right now and is having a hard time with it. He has no friends and no chances to make any. He needs to be around kids his own age so he can grow up on his level and have someone to hang with that has the same interests. Right now he is around his 2 younger brothers and his sister and so he plays on a much younger level than he should and it's frustrating to have him acting like a 6 yr old in the games he plays but it's his only choice, that or do nothing and be left out and bored. Because of this when he does get around kids his own age he is a bit akward.

We live in a rural area and there was one boy who lived in our 1 street neighborhood who was his age but he moved when his parents divorced, we homeschool because he was being badly bullied in school (we don't have the same values as most of the population in our area and don't let our kids watch certain things or listen to certain music) and my husband and I are in our 2nd year as pastor's of a small church where the kids group is my kids and my niece. We tried football last year and it didn't work out. He's tried Karate and hated it but he might be willing to try it again. I'm not sure what to do to get him around some kids his age. Any suggestions??

[PailPowder]

It's baseball season...maybe try that?

[lilypond]

Originally Posted by PailPowder It's baseball season...maybe try that?

It's past sign up time in our area. They start early!

[Hitchkids]

Have you looked into a homeschooling group in your area? Or Boy Scouts? Or explored the youth group programs at other churches (I know that may be tricky with your husband being a pastor at another church but it might be worth it). Those are the places we have explored recently for our kids. Some have worked out better than others. Or maybe volunteer work somewhere (library comes to mind).

[Sylvie89]

I had a lot of friends through 4-H growing up. You could try that

[lilypond]

Originally Posted by Hitchkids Have you looked into a homeschooling group in your area? Or Boy Scouts? Or explored the youth group programs at other churches (I know that may be tricky with your husband being a pastor at another church but it might be worth it). Those are the places we have explored recently for our kids. Some have worked out better than others. Or maybe volunteer work somewhere (library comes to mind).

I've thought about homeschooling groups but I wouldn't begin to know where or how to find them. He does go to a youth group with my little brother (who's almost 19) on Wed nights but it's a wide age ranged group and he likes it most nights but last night came home in a funk because of no friends. I've considered finding one on a different night than Wed too, he likes going to this Youth group with my brother (makes him feel special hanging out with Ethan) My husband and I don't care, we aren't against him attending other churches, that's how we both grew up too. He and I both went to at least 3 different youth groups throughout the week plus extra activities.

[jacquelinemarie82]

Well get started....post on craigslist, call any local adult friends, post on your facebook page, etc. Check your library to see if they have any ideas there.

He may not be into sports it sounds like so don't push him to do something he will hate. Try a different route.

[ulawolf]

My son has this issue and we found youth groups and 4h to be the best options. Also u may want to look into local summer camps that have things that interest him. We are looking at a pc programming camp for my ds13.