Social Skills for 10 Year Olds

A Parent's Guide to Building Confidence

Ten is a pivotal age. Friendship groups become more defined, humour grows sharper, and the unwritten rules of the playground shift week by week. For some children this happens naturally. For others, it can feel like everyone else received a rulebook they never got.

In our Marylebone practice, we speak with a great many parents who worry their child is on the edge of things rather than in the middle. Working on social skills for 10 year olds at this stage is genuinely worthwhile, because the habits and confidence built now tend to carry a child through the transition to secondary school.

Why Ten is a Turning Point

At this age, children move from parallel play to genuine friendship. They begin to notice what others think of them, compare themselves to their peers, and pick up on subtleties in tone and body language that younger children simply do not register.

This growing awareness is a sign of healthy development, but it also raises the stakes. A child who struggles to join a conversation or read a joke may start to withdraw rather than risk getting it wrong.

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How We Can Help

At CY&A Psychology, we work with teenagers and their families to build social confidence through evidence-based approaches that are practical, engaging and age-appropriate.

Our PEERS® programme is a structured social skills intervention developed at UCLA and backed by strong research evidence. It helps teenagers learn the skills involved in making and keeping friends, handling disagreements and finding social groups where they feel they belong. Parents and carers are actively involved, which means the skills are reinforced at home too.

We also offer therapeutic Dungeons & Dragons groups, where young people practise communication, teamwork, perspective-taking and problem-solving through creative role play. It is a fun and low-pressure way to develop real social skills in a supported setting.

For teenagers who are also experiencing anxiety, low self-esteem or difficulties with emotional regulation, our Clinical Psychologists can work individually using approaches such as CBT or ACT to address what is getting in the way of social connection.

Evidence-Based Social Skills Programme

PEERS® is internationally recognised & has over 30 ‘gold standard’ research trials evidencing its effectiveness.

Parents as Social Coaches

While your child is in their group, you are in a parent group learning ways to help your child build their social skills.

Working in Partnership with Schools

We also work collaboratively with schools to ensure the benefits of PEERS® extend beyond the clinic.

Supporting Meaningful Change

Through specialist facilitation and parent involvement, the PEERS® programme helps young people build skills, confidence and meaningful friendships.

When to Seek Further Support

Most children find their footing with time and gentle encouragement. It is worth speaking to a clinical psychologist if your child is consistently distressed about friendships, avoiding school or clubs, showing a marked change in mood, or if social difficulties sit alongside a neurodevelopmental profile such as autism or ADHD.

At CY&A Psychology, our clinicians offer approaches including the PEERS® programme and therapeutic role play, both of which help young people practise social skills in a setting that feels engaging rather than clinical. Sessions take place at our townhouse in Marylebone or online.