Through play children learn social rules like taking turns, and skills like how to introduce themselves and make friends. It is also through play that they begin to learn more about their world and practice new physical skills e.g. climbing, throwing and painting.

Self-esteem is also shaped through interaction with others. If children constantly experience difficulties due to other people’s reactions it can make it harder for them to enjoy being with other children or to gain as much as they should from play activities. If children have just one positive experience then they are much more likely to expect a positive result the next time and feel more confident in themselves.

Changing Faces can provide strategies to help you to develop your child’s social skills so that he/she feels confident about joining in and forging friendships.

As your child gets older, fitting in and being ‘like’ her peers becomes even more important particularly as she will start to develop a view of herself through interactions with her peers. Children with disfigurements do have many things in common with other children but they can feel left out and unsure of themselves, particularly if their peers focus a lot of attention on appearance.

Our age-appropriate guides on forging friendships contain lots of suggestions and practical advice for parents and are a useful reference tool.

Meeting people and feeling good for children aged 0-3 years.

Meeting people and joining in for children aged 3-6 years.

Making friends and fitting in for children aged 7-11 years.

If you are worried about your child or you just feel that you are struggling a bit, you might find it helpful and reassuring to talk to someone at Changing Faces who understand the unique situation you are in.

As children get older they don’t always want to turn to their parents to discuss their worries. It can be helpful for them to have someone at Changing Faces they can talk to if they feel that they aren’t fitting in or are fed up with people’s comments about their appearance. If they are 11-21 years they can also visit www.iface.org.uk, a website created by Changing Faces’ Young People’s Council where young people with and without disfigurements can discuss and find support from each other on the issues that matter to them.