If there’s one thing that’s constant for teenage girls, no matter when they grow up, it’s friendship drama. Navigating social circles as a tween or teen can be daunting, but a therapist on TikTok is sharing her best tips—and parents (and their teens) are going to want to take note.
Dr. Kimberley Palmiotto, a therapist, school psychologist, and mom of four girls, is clearly qualified to speak on the subject. In her TikTok video, she shared her top recommendation for teen girls navigating shifting friendships (hint: it’s all about balance).
“Providing your daughter with multiple social opportunities might help her to balance the challenges that come with some of her friendships as she gets older,” Palmiotto says in the video. “The more social circles she has, the more choices are available. So, when one circle gets challenging, she has the opportunity to move to the other.”
@nurturing_girls Friendships can be tricky for tween and teen girls. Encouraging them to have a variety of different friend groups is one way to help them navigate friend drama that is inevitably going to arise. #parentingteenagegirls #momsofdaughters #parentingteengirls #parentingtips #parentinggirls #raisinggirls #momsoftweensandteens #momsoftweens #nurturinggirls #girlmoms #parentingtweens #raisingconfidentgirls #raisingteendaughters #teenmentalhealth
♬ original sound – Dr. Kimberley Palmiotto
Is it really that simple? Palmiotto says so. According to her video, parents should encourage their daughters to make friends in different areas of life: sports, church, family, school, passions and hobbies, etc.
“They’re all really important to nurture, all of them, by just keeping in touch and finding ways to connect every now and again,” she adds. “I have seen girls that have a variety of friend groups navigate the normal drama that can come with adolescence much easier than girls that don’t. As parents, we can’t control the social situations, but we can be there to support her when they’re challenging and help her by providing spaces that help nurture that variety of friendships.”
When you think about it, this advice makes sense. As adults, we tend to have multiple groups of friends from different areas (and times) of our lives. So kids who start this practice early will be better prepared with the skills and practice to keep up relationships with different friend groups, even if they don’t see all their friends all the time.
In the comments, viewers noted that Palmiotto’s advice rings true for them.
“To this day I have rotating friendships even as an adult, and it’s amazing having so many people from different walks of life 🥰,” one person wrote. Another added, “This!! I had difficulty with school friends and my neighborhood friends were such a safe space.”
