“Laughing at what?”

“Well, we were laughing at this one kid. But he deserved it. He is always making fun of everyone else.”

How do we guide our children to choose truly kind friends? The Bible says, “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33). As a mother of teens, I have heard countless heartbreaking stories from godly parents whose kids walked away from the Lord because of the influence of a certain friend.

And yet, while there is great potential for negative influence in our children’s lives, we must still remember why we are here. As Christians, we need to reach out to a lost world.

So how do we reconcile these two aspects of Christianity? Our kids need to learn at a young age that they are called to reach people because of Christ’s sacrifice. In the book Boundaries With Kids, Dr. Henry Cloud writes: “You are preparing your child for the future. A person’s character is one’s destiny.… And character is always formed in relationship.”

Here are a few tips for helping your children make the right friends:

• Have your kids regularly attend church youth events, church camp, Sunday school, etc. This will solidify their identity with their church family.

• Be willing to have kids over to your house. Get to know the children your kids are drawn to. Watch them interact with each other and discern if the interaction is kind or destructive.

• Be available for your kids when they get home from school. That’s when you’ll get the most details about the people they came into contact with that day.

• Constantly remind your kids how important they are. When they blow it, put your hands on their shoulders, look them in the eye and say, “You are too important to be making those kinds of choices.”

• Don’t be afraid to say no to them if they’re drawn to someone who could be a negative influence. But before you do, make sure you have prayed deeply for your children. Pray that God would open the eyes of their heart so they would understand your reasons for redirecting them.

— Susie Larson