Question: My husband and I both work and we have three children ages 13, 10, and 6. I am worried that my 13 year old is a bad influence on the younger ones. Any suggestions?
Answer: There is no doubt in my mind that all families’ members influence one another. That goes for the parents as well. My concern is what are the issues with the 13 year old? Without knowing that, what I do in my program is show a picture of a father and a son in prison together. I let teens and young adults know that they have to make good choices regardless of the surrounding they are in, or influences around them.
I am a big supporter of families sticking together and finding things to do together. It is hard with both parents working but nobody said rising a family was going to be easy. It all has to do with being committed to your family as a whole. Make family a priority.
There are many things to do that don’t cost money. Like going to the beach, going to a park and having a picnic. You have to eat anyway. Go to church together, join one of their groups. They are fun and you get to meet people just like you.
The more you are around your kids the better it will be. Kids understand parent’s struggles. We tend to try and hide everything from kids but they see more than you realize. Be the good influence on your kids and straighten out the issues the 13 year old has and he won’t be a bad influence on the younger ones.
Look on my website at “Identifying at-risk teens”. Use it as a guide and be pro-active.
Good luck,
Larry Lawton
