Teenage years are tricky. This is the phase when kids start looking beyond family. Friends quickly become their biggest influence. They celebrate Friendship Day like it’s a festival.

Friendships can shape your teen’s life in a big way. While getting the good ones can help them grow, bad ones can drag them into wrong direction.

As a parent, you want to guide them. But how do you do it without controlling their life?

Why Friends Matter So Much in Teenage Years

During the teenage years, friends become super important. They share their secrets. They also influence decisions, unfortunately both good and bad. That’s why parents worry. But you have act very smartly here. You have to guide them but without hampering their space.

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How to Guide Without Hovering

1. Keep Conversations Open
Ask about their friends naturally.

• “What do you like about your new friend?”
• “What’s the funniest thing your group has done recently?”

Remember not to judge them while having these conversations.

2. Meet Their Friends Casually
Invite their friends over for a pizza party or a movie evening. And you don’t have to wait for your child’s birthday to do this, just a casual party without any reason makes them happy. When you meet them outside school, you understand the group better.

3. Don’t Point Out Their Friends Directly
Don’t directly say, “I don’t like that friend,”. Instead try beating around the bush like “you know that boy in the next compound, he has been behaving badly these days”.

This helps them think for themselves.

4. Lead by Example
Show your teen what healthy friendships look like. Let them meet your friends and know about your friendship stories. These a real life moral stories for kids.

What To Do If You’re Worried About a Friend

If a friend seems like a bad influence, don’t ban the friendship outright, it usually backfires. Instead, suggest other group activities or hobbies to widen their circle.

Friendships will come and go. Your role isn’t to choose friends for your teen, but to help them make good choices on their own.