MORE TIPS FOR FRIENDSHIPS MONITOR SOCIAL ACTIVITIES.
If your child is going to a party, find out if it will be supervised and by whom. Making this a habit will send a clear message to your child about the importance of safe and
healthy environments. DON’T BAN A FRIEND.
Possibly the worst thing you can do is ban friend you do not approve of. Kids choose friends they have something in common with. Kids value friends and will defend them at all costs, in part because they are defending what they have in common. Try getting to know the friend better instead and include them in family activities. This helps them understand your family values. ENCOURAGE MORE FRIENDS. A really good strategy to help children deal with peer influence is to encourage having more activities with different groups of people. More social experiences helps prevent undue influence by a single “bad” friend. Support a variety of activities so that they can vary their friend groups. TIP: USE A CODE WORD FOR SAFETY Peer pressure is tough to resist. Help your child find an easy way out of a potentially dangerous situation by texting or calling you with a code word or phrase that will let you know they need your help.
Find out more about helping your child develop healthy friendships online at madd.org/ powerofparents.
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