The friends that children have are a very important part of their lives. What kinds of influence may children’s friends have on them? What can parents do to ensure that their children’s friends are a good influence on them?

An essential part of childhood is 1friendship, and mostfriendship and most children realise the need to have a friend or two to make life more fun, especially 2at school or in their immediate communityin school or their immediate community. However, the influence of friends can be both positive and negative, so parents should find ways to ensure their 3children’s friendships are not harmful to their developmentchildren’s friendships are not detrimental to them. On the positive side, a child’s friends can motivate them to try activities they might not do on their own because of fear or embarrassment. Thus, some children 4take part in sports or the artsdabble in sports or the arts because their friends are doing the same. Friends are also a source of help and encouragement when 5things are tough at school or at homethings are tough in school or the family. By lending their expertise or 6offeringproviding sympathy, friends are a blessing in difficult times. 7On the negative sideDespite this, on the negative side, some friends can steer a child in the wrong direction. Bullying is something many children copy from their friends until they become 8bullies themselvesfull-fledged bullies themselves. There are also many 9harmful habits children pick upvices children pick up from the wrong crowd in school or their community, such as pornography, drinking, smoking, and even 10excessive video gamingoverindulging in video games. Since children should have a good set of friends, parents must do their part to ensure that happens. One way is for parents to 11learn who these friends are by asking about themknow who these friends are, by inquiring about them and learning what they do together. Having these friends over for a meal also allows parents to observe and determine the influence such friends have on their children. Another important task for parents is to educate their children on moral values. There will come a time when parents will no longer be able to dictate who their children choose as friends. But if their children understand right and wrong and are aware of the telltale signs that they are being misled, they will know who to keep and who to drop from their inner circle. To sum up, friendship is an important part of a child’s formative years as good friends can help a child 12develop in different areas of lifebecome better in the different aspects of life. However, parents must be actively involved in monitoring and teaching their children about selecting their friends well to ensure their kids do not fall into the wrong crowd.