Some young people find it difficult to making friends. For example, they find it difficult to approach someone spontaneously and they feel insecure. Other young people, on the other hand, have many friends and therefore seem very confident.

As a parent, you no longer have much influence over your child’s friendships. You can lend a listening ear and offer advice if your child wants it. Your child is an adult and can solve most problems on his own. The older they get, the more young people decide and choose for themselves and the more clearly they know what is important to them. Friends remain important, but their influence diminishes.

Confident

Friends can give your child more security. When you have friends who enjoy hanging out with you, you feel understanding, respect, and validation. This is important for a positive self-image. In addition, friendships are good for the further development of social skills.

Wrong friends

In addition to being a positive influence, friends can also have a negative influence on your child. In that case it concerns bad or wrong friends; friends who encourage your child to play truant, smoking, alcohol abuse or drugs abuse.

Influence of friends

Young people are looking for friends with whom they feel at home. When young people belong to a group of friends or subculture, they largely do the same things, listen to the same music and wear the same clothes. That influence is now diminishing. Young adults have a clearer idea of their own identity and are also less opposed to their parents and society.