By Nadine Briggs and Donna Shea
An epic battle is coming this Friday. Nadine’s center, Simply Social Kids, is hosting Donna’s center, The Peter Pan Center for a game of teen trivia. Team SSK and Team PPC will go head to head on questions 
about pop culture, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and general trivia.
It promises to be an interesting night merging the two groups of teens. The evening will be a mix of excitement and anxiety. Our goal is always to help kids find new friends and we certainly will encourage them to branch out as they meet new people. As social coaches, it is our job to anticipate the issues that might arise during the night and prepare. That means, this week in each of the teen groups we will need to address the “what if” questions that we know will come up:
What if you don’t know the answer?
What if you disagree with the answer?
What if you are the team member who is supposed to say the final answer and someone else blurts it out before you have a chance?
What if the team doesn’t choose your answer as the final one?
What if you begin to feel like something is unfair?
What if you begin to feel frustrated or even angry?
What if you really wanted to win but don’t?
What if the team that wins whoops with excitement?
I can guarantee you that with all the social coaches that will be in the room, there will be expert eyes watching for potential hotspots. We know who might have a harder time with all of the above. We know who can “lock” down with intense rigidity. We will prepare them, remind them and privately keep our fingers crossed that the event if the fun experience we hope it to be.
Nadine Briggs, Director of Simply Social Kids and Donna Shea, Founder of the Peter Pan Center for Social and Emotional Growth are authors of the How to Make and Keep Friends books series. They specialize in creating simple tips that teach kids with social challenges the social language of friendship.
