{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"When parenthood enters the group chat, friendships can change drastically. Many millennials are at a point where they may not have a child (now or ever), but their friends do. So how can you still relate to your friends when you don’t have a kid? We asked ","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{"uri":"https://www.daniellebayardjackson.com/"},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[{"type":"underline"}],"value":"Danielle Bayard Jackson","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"hyperlink"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":", friendship educator and author of the new book “","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{"uri":"https://www.amazon.com/Fighting-Our-Friendships-Connection-Relationships/dp/0306830612"},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[{"type":"underline"}],"value":"Fighting for Our Friendships","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"hyperlink"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":",” for her advice.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"All my friends have kids, and I don’t. How can I still relate to them?","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"heading-3"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"Jackson gave us a simple solution: ","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{},"marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"value":"Ask about their lives","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":", even if it revolves around diaper cream and nap schedules. “If your friend is posting to social media, those are your prompts. So you don’t have to come up [with questions]. A lot of times they’ll post about baby’s first steps, or feeling tired … you can use that as a lead-in,” she explains.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"Another tip from Jackson is to","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{},"marks":[{"type":"bold"}],"value":" see if your friend(s) will try something new with you","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":" (like an art or cooking class, or going on a weekly walk). Emphasis on ","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{},"marks":[{"type":"italic"}],"value":"new","nodeType":"text"},{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":". “We can’t help [but] compare our present to what we’re familiar with [from] the past … but they’ll never be able to return to what they had before,” says Jackson. “What are new things we can do, to show that we can connect?” ","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"If you’re in different life stages, you’re not always going to relate to one another — and that’s okay. “You [might] need support for the things that you're going through. But there might be a period or a point in time where your friend can't offer that kind of specific mirrored support because she's in a different stage or her priorities [have] changed.” ","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"That’s why it’s important to talk to people who understand what you’re going through. “Where do you feel a lack of connection? Do you feel like [your friend] lost interest in your dating life or she's not offering adequate support? Can you be more intentional about making other friends, not to replace your friend, but to bring [more] into the fold?” asks Jackson. ","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"},{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"Oh, and if you’re experiencing the opposite — you’re the only one with kids in your friend group — the same advice from Jackson applies. Ask questions, think of new ways to bond, and understand that you might need more or different friendships in your life.","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"}],"nodeType":"document"}