Parents with teenagers
You do need to try and keep
your bias and prejudice from clouding your own judgment and only intervene if your child is likely to come to significant
harm. Just because you do not like your child’s friends or their behavior does not mean they are harmful to your child.
Save your interventions for when it really matters. To get involved when matters are trivial may be perceived as meddling
and put your teenage children on the defensive and make them resentful.
Kids will always be kids; and
by their very nature, kids are bound to make mistakes along their journey of self discovery. This is all to true about teenagers
growing up. What makes the big difference is how you as the parent react to your kids mistakes.
Peer pressure vs. Responsibility
Kids easily get into the habit
of blaming their peers just so that they can get off the hook. All children not just teenagers need learn that they themselves
are accountable for their own actions. They need to accept part of the blame if they are hanging around if these friends.
Choosing an appropriate circle of friends is a part and parcel of learning to be responsible.
There may be occasions however
when your child may well be innocent and that it was 100% his friend’s fault. Even if you believe them, that will not
stop him from getting into trouble if only because he made the mistake of choosing the wrong person to hang out with at the
wrong place at the wrong time.
