School is back in.

Now is the perfect time to make the dedication to actively monitor our children.

 
 My 14-year-old son just started high school today and only has classes with a couple of his friends, so he is now forced to start making new friends. I have no idea whom he will be-friend or what kind of home life these kids will come from. He already made one new friend in his English class today, and asked if he could walk home tomorrow because this new kid invited him to go “hang out” at the local coffee/bagel shop after school. I, of course, said “No.” I will be having my wife pick him up directly after school. I have never met this kid before and know nothing about him but his first name (neither does my son, he just met him today!). This is not enough information for me to allow my son to spend time with this kid after school at the local after school “hang out spot.”

 
But say for arguments sake my wife worked full-time, as many moms do, and my son were automatically walking home tomorrow. He might have decided to not say anything to us and just “hung out” for a little while on his way home from school. We might not have ever noticed if we did not monitor his cell phone and computer.

 
What we as parents need to remember is even good kids can make bad decisions. Kids all want to “belong” and to be accepted by their peers. Sometimes kids will do or say things out of character for them selves to try to fit in with a new group of friends (or even an old group of friends). All children are susceptible to peer-pressure.

 
It is our job as parents to guide our children through these awkward stages in life and raise our kids to be productive adults when that time comes.

Investigator Jeff Brown