Hi there,
One of the most important things you can do is to join activities--sports, programs, youth group. Ask your mom to help you do these things so that you can meet other kids. Also, see if you can meeet kids in your neighborhood.

Next, perhaps your mom can help you find other home-schooled kids in your area that you can connect with. She may know some, or there may be a home-schooling group in your community. Ask her for help. Since she feels strongly about home-schooling, she should help you balance out what you are missing socially.

Also, ask yourself exactly what is getting in the way of making friends, other than not being in public school. Perhaps you are shy, afraid of taking risks or think that you are too different from other kids. Being home schooled doesn't have to be an obstacle to making friends.

I strongly suggest that you DO NOT use the internet as a way to make new friends--it can be very unsafe, expecially since you are already feeling like you really want to make friends. This may get in the way of you being careful about allowing people online to get close to you. Once you meet a couple of kids, Facebook could be a good way to stay in touch with them, if your mom is okay with it.

Good Wishes and Great Parenting,
Dr Susan Bartell
JustAsk Expert
www.drsusanbartell.com
Twitter @drsusanbartell
NEW book “The Top 50 Questions Kids Ask”

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you're having a hard time making friends right now. Would you be able to join some community activities in addition to your homeschooling? Either playing for fun on a sports team, joining a club in your community, taking a dance class or any kind of class that may spark your interest can bring like-minded peers to these activities and hopefully you'll meet some people you get along with. Hope this helps :)