Dr. Aziz narrates a short personal anecdote about his 7.5-year-old son attending a three-day indoor rock-climbing (bouldering) camp where he initially felt nervous but began connecting with kids by day three. Using their conversation, Dr. Aziz teaches practical, child-friendly strategies for making friends: be proactive (express you like someone), exchange contact information (ask parents for numbers), invite them to future activities instead of leaving it to chance, and persistently invite if schedules conflict. The video ends with encouragement to practice courage and invite viewers to share what they found useful.
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So how do you confidently make friends? I just had a little interaction with my 7 and a half year old son that I have to go step outside and tell you about right now. As they're getting ready for bed with their mom, he is doing this camp, this rock climbing camp, indoor bouldering gym. So they spend like five hours of this camp each day, Monday through Friday. And it's his third day of the camp. And he was telling me a story about, you know, Leah said this to Sydney, Leah said this to my friend Sydney. And he didn't know any of the kids before this camp. He was nervous before the first day of the camp. You know, I don't want to go. I'm not gonna like it. And we kind of helped him through that. Have you ever been nervous before? Meeting a group of new people and we can all relate to that. So he goes to the camp, he really loves it, and he starts to connect with the kids there. And now I noticed on the third day, he said, leah said this to my friend Sydney. And so I heard the story. I was like, oh, that sounds like fun. You know, sounds like you're connecting with some of the kids there. He's like, yeah, but I'm not making any friends there because it's only for five days. I was like, oh, really? Well, do you like any of the kids there? And he's like, well, yeah. And I was like, well, you know, in life sometimes you could be around someone for a very short period of time, and if you really like them, you can. You can become friends with them. He's like, really? I was like, oh, yeah. Let's say even if you went to like a barbecue, which is barbecue, a little while back, there was no other kids there. He didn't like it. But I said, remember that barbecue we went to that you didn't like? What if there was another kid there and you really liked him? Like, he was really fun to play with, and he's like, more fun than Luca. More fun. Lucas, our next door neighbor kid, and they're besties. And I was like, sure, why not? Even more fun. I said, he really liked it. How could you be? Could you become friends with him? And he's like, I don't know. I was like, well, what would you do if you really wanted to see him again? He's like, well, maybe hope I'd see him again at another barbecue or another party. I was like, you could do that? Have you ever done that? You know, is that person you want to go ask them out? There's a person, you have a great connection with them, whatever the circumstances. A business connection, a romantic connection, a social friendship connection, potential. And you're like, maybe I'll see him again. I guess. Maybe they'll be at the next yoga class. Maybe they'll be at the next thing. Maybe. But why do you want to live your life that way? Why do you want to leave it up to chance and circumstance and hope and wish? I said to him, I was like, well, that's one thing. You could wish your hope. Is there another way, a different strategy that would, you know, let's say you really wanted to be friends with this kid. He's like, I don't know. I was like, well, you could say to him, I really like being with you. Let's go tell our moms to change numbers so they can text each other and then go to mom and say, hey, I really like this kid. I'd love to see him again. Can you get his mom's number? He's like, yeah, I could do that. I was like, yeah, you could do that with Sydney. He's like, yeah, but I would only do it if the other kid really liked me back too. I was like, yeah, fair enough. You like him or her, they like you and you guys can connect. And he's like, yeah, but how would we, how if, if they had the numbers, how would we, when would we hang out? I said, well, anytime. Just, you know, next time you go to the river, next time you're doing something, just have mom text him, say, hey, we're gonna be at the river, we're do this thing. You want to come? You want to come to our. Be in our backyard with us. You just invite them and they might say, oh, my schedule's full, or that I can't make it that week, but you invite them again and maybe they can. He's like, oh, so maybe by the end of this week he'll have a new friend or two. What about you? Where can you easily and simply and just with an open hearted, almost childlike, bright warmth, communicate? I like hanging out with you. Let's do more of this. You just might find that more people than you could ever be friends with would want to be friends with you. So I hope these lessons that I get to share with a 7 year old help you in your journey to more confidence and that you can create the friendships and the connections that you want. So share down below what's useful for you in this video, what you're going to take, what you're going to apply and until we speak again, may have the courage to be who you are and to know on a deep level that you're awesome. I'll talk to you soon.
