All Episodes

• Have you been around a friend or sibling who acts wild? What do you think helps or doesn’t help in that situation?
• Has anyone told you that you were acting too wild? What feelings were behind your wild behavior? (In other words, how were you feeling at that time?)
• Dr. Friendtastic explained that there are a bunch of different reasons why someone might be acting wild, including being overexcited, not wanting the fun to end, feeling lonely or bored, or feeling frustrated. Why do you think it’s important to figure out why someone is acting wild?
• When should you try to handle a friend or sibling’s misbehavior by yourself, and when should you get a grown-up involved?
• What does Dr. Friendtastic mean when she says, “Winning and losing only last about two seconds”? Why is that an important thing to understand?

• Have you ever been in a situation like Maya’s, where you felt jealous of a friend’s other friend? What happened? How did you handle it?
• Dr. Friendtastic mentions three things that would NOT help in this situation: yelling at the friend, being mean to the new friend, and trying to divide the friend evenly. Why do you think those would NOT be good choices? (Hint: How would they make the friend feel?)
• Why is it important to try to be “good company” when you’re with a friend, so they enjoy being with you? What are some ways to be good company?
• What are some reasons why it’s good to have more than one friend?

• Which kids do you know whom you consider to be popular? What do you think makes them popular? Are they also well-liked by other kids? Why or why not?
• Which kids do you know who are well-liked by other kids? What do you think makes them well-liked?
• Why do kids sometimes want to be popular? Do you think that’s an important goal? Why or why not?
• Why do you think popular kids tend to be more anxious and sad than kids who have a few close friends?
• What does this statement mean: “Kindness is about how the other person feels and what they want”?
• What are some examples of kind things you’ve done for other kids? Why is it a good idea to do at least one kind action every day? (Hint: How does it make other people feel? How does it make you feel?)

• What is the best gift you ever received from a friend? What makes you think it’s the best?
• Why do you think Saanvi’s parents don’t want her to give her friend and expensive gift? What are some reasons why giving a friend an expensive gift might not be a good idea?
• What is something you gave to a friend that didn’t cost any money, but the friend really liked it?
• Dr. Friendtastic listed a bunch of ideas of possible gifts for a friend that cost little or no money: teaching the friend something, helping a friend with chores, makin a drawing or a craft, yummy food, a photo collage, a slide show, or a video about the two of you, writing a letter or a card telling the friend how much they mean to you. Which of those would you most like to receive? Which of these–or another idea–would you most like to give to a friend?

• What are some positive ways your friends have influenced you?
• Have you ever had friends or other kids try to influence you to do something that wasn’t smart or kind? What happened?
• Why do you think it’s sometimes hard for kids to say no to friends?
• Have you ever tried to influence a friend to do something? What was it? Why did you want your friend to do it? How did you try to influence your friend? How did your friend respond?

• Have you ever been called names you didn’t like? What happened? How did you handle it?
• Why is it important to stop when a friend asks us to stop? What are some reasons why kids sometimes don’t stop when asked?
• Dr. Friendtastic mentioned communicating about your communication by describing the pattern you see and asking what’s going on. Why might this be a helpful thing to do in a friendship? (Hint: Why is it useful to describe the pattern? Why is it useful to ask what’s going on?")
• What does this statement mean: “How you think affects how you feel”?

• Which do you think is the hardest part of showing empathy: Paying attention, imagining the other person’s perspective, caring, or caring action? Why?
• Why do you think friends who are feeling upset often don’t want advice? What do you think they might want instead? What does Dr. Friendtastic mean when she says, “Unwanted advice can come across as criticism”?
• How might showing empathy look different with a close friend versus someone you don’t know well?
• Why is it a good idea to say “you” rather than “I” when you’re empathizing with a friend? (Hint: Where do you want the focus to be?) How might feeling very emotional yourself get in the way of offering empathy for a friend?
• Why is it important to ask, “What can I do to help?”
• Dr. Friendtastic mentions a bunch of examples of small acts of kindness to show you care about someone. What are some small acts of kindness you’ve done to show your friends you care?

Have you ever switched friendship groups? What led to that change? How did it work out? To what extent did you stay in touch with your previous friend group? Were you surprised to learn how often kids’ friendships don’t last a full school year? Why or why not? What are some reasons why friends might grow apart? What are two things you should definitely NOT do when you sense a friend is pulling away? Why does Dr. Friendtastic recommend talking to the leaning-away friend one-on-one? Why might that work out better than having the whole group confront this friend? Have you ever reconnected with a friend after you grew apart? What led to you reconnecting?

• Do you or someone you know fit the description of a high-energy kid who has trouble sitting still and tends to act without thinking about what might happen or how others might react? What are some good things about having a lot of energy? In what ways can it cause problems with adults or other kids?
• What does compassion mean? Why can imagining what life is like for someone else help us gain compassion for that person? Why is it important to try to find compassion even for people who annoy us?
• Dr. Friendtastic said, “If you’ve asked a kid politely to stop doing something two times, and they haven’t listened, they’re probably not going to listen.” Why is this a useful guideline? (Hint: What does it prevent you from doing? What does it allow you to focus on instead?)
• We can’t control what others do, but we can control how we think about our situation. How can deciding that something someone else does isn’t important be a way of taking care of yourself?
• How do you know when to ignore other kids’ misbehavior and when to go to the teacher or other adult for help?