Blog 15, Week 4

Page 412-432 of the book discusses the importance of a child's peer relations. Peer relations often are only discussed in a negative cogitation. Parents are justified to worry about the company that their child keeps because it influences them, good or bad. Children do not just randomly pick their friends, rather they look for other individuals that share similar interests. A parent can encourage their child to associate with individuals that they deem appropriate; however, it is ultimately up to the child to decide who they are to associate with. Barring a child from associating with an individual or group is non-effective if the child values the relationship. The fact of the matter is, their child is going to find away to associate with whoever they want. This happens either at school or when there is no supervision. The best course of action for parents is to be an active participant in their child's life. They should listen to their child and steer them in the correct direction. The parents of a child may not always like the individuals, however, if they are not causing their child harm they have to support their child's decision. This idea will give the child some freedom which is especially important during the adolescent years. The most important point of peer relations is that children choose individuals with similar likes and dislike, so the desireable and undesirable traits are with in their child. Punishing a child solves nothing in this case, so talking to the child and letting them express their feeling can go a long way to having the child associate with favorable individuals.