The Not-So-Friendly Friend: How to Set Boundaries for Healthy Friendships (Capable Kiddos)

“Being aware of our feelings is a building block for our emotional and social intelligence. In this charming and creative book, Christina Furnival offers children a way to sense and shape their emotions that emerge in the important friendships that shape who we are now, and who we will become later on in our lives.”
―Daniel J. Siegel, MD, New York Times bestselling author of The Developing Mind, Parenting from the Inside Out, and The Whole Brain Child

The Not-So-Friendly Friend is a recipient of the prestigious Gold Award from Mom's Choice Awards®

How can I help my child deal with a bully?
What do I teach them about handling an on-again-off-again, not-so-friendly friend?
My advice to “just be kind” isn’t helping, and my child is still hurting.

Christina Furnival, a licensed mental health therapist and mom, helps answer these questions in this charming and engaging rhyming story about a young child who successfully navigates the complexities of an unkind peer relationship.

In The Not-So-Friendly Friend, children will learn an easy and practical lesson about how to firmly and assertively―yet kindly―stand up for themselves in the face of a bully. By teaching children about the importance and value of setting boundaries for healthy friendships, this book provides children the tools they need to foster their social confidence and emotional well-being.

Christina Furnival, MA, LPCC, is a wife, mother of two, writer, author, and licensed mental health therapist. With over a decade of experience in the field, she is passionate about helping parents and children grow their skill sets, overcome challenges, and gain confidence to live happy, fulfilling lives.

Her meaningful stories in the Capable Kiddos series serve as entertaining and enlightening resources to empower children and to make them feel capable of managing tough situations and their accompanying emotions.