As a parent, you want the best for your child. Unfortunately, more often than not, good intentions can have dramatic consequences. As a result, parents who wish to warn their children against friends who could be a bad influence, must think before they act. Indeed, teenagers need to explore and experiment with their surroundings in order to figure themselves out. Part of the exploration process also includes defining who is a friend and who isn’t. You can’t take control of your child’s social connections. However, if you suspect your child’s friend is a bad influence, you can find ways of avoiding unnecessary risks and pain.
For more on this topic, check out the full Friendships collection
Help Them Question Their Friendship
Your child is unlikely to respond positively if you attack their friend. However, you can encourage them to question their relationship and the benefits they get from it. A simple conversation that tackles their views on friendship and their expectations for their friends and themselves can already clarify many things. Perhaps your child may discover that, according to their own definition, their friend is a bad friend. Or maybe you will even come to change your view on their friend. Ultimately, when you keep the tone conversational and open, you can both learn something new about how to make friends, and who is or isn’t a friend. Don’t judge until you know all the facts.
Find out how to teach kids about friendship
Avoid Potentially Dangerous Decisions
Can you trust your intuition when it comes to judging your child’s friends? If you suspect there is something fishy going on, you can find ways to safely monitor your child’s phone on this website. While monitoring shouldn’t be used as a spying method, it can help to ensure that your child is safe. For instance, you can check suspicious text messages and calls if you are worried about friends who can be a negative influence. It could also help you to act quickly if you notice something suspicious is going on.
Explore what makes a good friend
Share Your Worries Objectively
Toxic friendships can happen at any age. Whether it happens to you or your child, the first thing to focus on is to define how toxic a friend is. Ultimately, forbidding your child to see their friends is not going to work. However, you can help them see your perception by explaining which behaviors you dislike. It helps to objectify the situation and can often bring your child to understand why their friend is a bad influence.
Learn what to look for in a friend
Put Yourself in Your Kid’s Shoes
The first thing you want to ask yourself is, what does that specific friend offer that makes them so appealing? If your parenting style revolves around restrictions to avoid any risk, a friend who is a bad influence can offer the freedom you refuse. If this is the case, you might want to discuss the introduction of additional freedoms with your child and consider if it changes their views on the friendship. Additionally, a bad influence friend who keeps their words when parents can’t sometimes hold their promises (nobody is perfect!), could provide a sense of trust. In short, understanding the appeal of a bad seed is detrimental here.
Ideas for how to be there for a friend in need
Your Kids and Their Friendships
In conclusion, parents need to keep their eyes open when it comes to their child’s friends. However, it isn’t your role to impose your views or forbid your child to see their friends. Open and honest conversations with smart monitoring will help to avoid risks, and are the safest ways forward.
For more on this topic, check out the full Friendships collection
