How to Help Kids Fight Loneliness

Relearning how to connect

The ways we can help children fight loneliness are getting easier. Kids worldwide are suffering disproportionately from loneliness. Loneliness is defined as the feeling caused by the difference between expected social interaction and how much actual social interaction you actually have.

Full disclosure: I am not a clinical or research psychologist, I am an event professional. My company, Handy Entertainment, creates meaningful and personalized event entertainment that connects people. What I bring to the table is what I’ve learned working in events, working with kids at events, and as an educator.

What does this have to do with entertainers?

Entertainers develop traits associated with the positive psychology that the Renzulli Center for Creativity, Gifted Education and Talent Development offers through their educational program, ‘Operation Houndstooth.’ ‘Operation Houndstooth’ focuses on creating educational environments to support and encourage the development of attributes associated with giftedness.

The Traits of Positive Psychology

• Optimism

• Physical/Mental Energy

Entertainers, as a group, develop many of these same traits. The majority of entertainers (including musicians, actors, dancers, plus stage managers, directors, and producers) are self-employed or freelancers. Some freelancers obtain long-term engagements with, for example, cruise ships, companies like Cirque du Soleil, or on Broadway.

What are some of the tools that performers use, and how can we make them available to our kids?

Here is what I’ll call ‘The Performers Tool Kit.’

Though these aren’t a traditional part of formal training for performing artists at universities or conservatories, they are lessons that are usually learned on the road of hard knocks: