Teaching Friendliness in an Age of Social Anxiety: Proven Ways to Help Every Child Feel Included
- Glenn Fletcher
- Dec 17, 2025
- 1 min read
Your quiet kids sit alone at lunch. Your outgoing ones accidentally exclude others. You want every child to feel like they belong, but “just be nice” doesn’t cut it anymore.
Friendliness is the gateway virtue of being a good citizen—if kids don’t feel safe and connected, nothing else you teach lands.
Three activities that actually work in 2025 classrooms:
1. “Friendship Web” – Toss a yarn ball while saying something you appreciate about the person catching it. Visual + verbal = magic.
2. Greeting Choice Board at the door every morning (fist bump, wave, smile, high-five). Takes 60 seconds, builds belonging instantly.
3. “Secret Buddy” week – Each child draws a classmate’s name and does one kind act without revealing themselves. Reveal on Friday = pure joy.
Auto-B-Good’s Friendliness episode featuring Billy and Derek is the perfect discussion starter—the cars model including someone who feels left out, and kids immediately relate. The episode is only 9 minutes, includes activity pages, lesson guide and theme song they’ll hum all week—perhaps even pair it with “Friendship Coupons” kids can give each other.
See other lessons on Friendliness in the Good Citizen collection here:
