FRIENDS Part 1
Dear Parent,
I
just want to encourage you this very minute. You are extremely
important to your teenager whether they acknowledge it or not. Now with
that being said, you need to know that you are probably being replaced as the “best friend” in their life. Some of you are shaking your heads as you read this ,
because you have already dealt with this very issue. One of the hardest
things to understand as a parent is how very important friends are to your teen and how not to take it personally when you aren’t the “go to” person anymore.
Talk to your teenager about their friends. Help them determine the qualities of a good friend. And remember , listen to what your teen has to say regarding friendship. They are smart and can be discerning
if they aren’t shut down by all of the requirements that you have for
prospective friends. You taught them about respect, and trustworthiness,
and character. They won’t forget those lessons as they choose their
friends.
Allow
this to be a time when you can talk openly with your teenager about
friendship. Allow them to be just as open. Sometimes it’s very easy to
have expectations of your teen that you aren’t willing to have from
yourself. Do your friend choices match up with what you are requiring
of your teenager? They watch and often navigate down the same roads their parents have taken. Ask yourself if this would be a hard mirror to look in?
The
video we are providing gives you great ideas on how to help your teen
foster true friendships and learn how to be a true friend themselves.
Watch the video HERE.
Just remember, you aren’t being replaced. It’s more like they are
learning how to better appreciate you in later years. Ok, maybe it is
being replaced for a short time. But they need a parent more than they
need a friend right now anyways!
Walking this road with you,
Youth Pastor
Ricc
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