To better understand
As you know, friends carry a lot of influence during the teenage years. And this influence can be positive or negative. Spending time with friends helps your teen learn how to become an adult, but they’re also likely to experiment with inappropriate or unhealthy behaviours together, like vaping or smoking, drinking, doing drugs, delinquency, or violence.
Despite knowing that certain behaviours are inappropriate or dangerous, your teenager may still experiment with them—for several different reasons. These can include: fear of being rejected or judged by others, wanting to feel included, curiosity, a ripple effect, believing the particular behaviour is the norm, wanting to break the rules, feel grown up, feel strong and important, etc.
So, how can you help your teen resist negative influences and avoid bad experiences?
What are teens doing?
68 % of teens feel a high level of social support from their friends.
To better support
Tips and tricks
- Recognize the important role that friends play in your teen’s life.
- Help your teen to recognize good and bad influences.
- Teach your teen how to resist negative influences.
In brief
Friends have a very strong influence during the teenage years, although parents still hold sway. Which means you have an important role to play. For specific advice on different topics, check out our toolbox!
Practical resources and tools
For support:
Are you dealing with a situation that worries you? Ask for help:
If you fear for your teen’s or your own safety, call 911 or your local police department.
The police can also be a helpful resource, especially for preventing gang activity, violence, bullying, delinquency, and other offences.
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