Ask your child empowering questions. Encourage your child to solve social problems himself by asking instead of telling him what to do. “If your child complains about an incident at school or a problem with a friend, ask ‘What do you do (or try)?’ ‘How did that work?’ ‘What else can you try?'” advises Lawrence Cohen, Ph.D.
Only help when your child truly needs or asks for help. When this happens, you might simply ask “What would you like me to do to help?” (or make a direct suggestion to a younger child, like “Would you like to talk to Billy with me?”) Try to help your child figure out his own solution. If your child has trouble verbalizing his feelings, you might help by putting words to them, like “You seem like you feel left out” without imposing your feelings on the situation.