I think that at first, you should be able to choose ALL your friends. Then, after you start hanging out with them your parents can decide if they like them too. If your parents REALLY think your friend will be a bad influence and they don’t like how they treat you or something, your parents should be able to tell you that and then you can discuss it. So, overall, I think…kids choose first, parents make the final decision. -Monica

I think pretty much everyone except Megan said the same thing. I think EVERYONE is right though. Parents shouldn’t have to point out everything that looks bad but you should be able to do that YOURSELF. Because if a friend is doing drugs or hurting you you should be able to know that. And if a friend is doing drugs or hurting you etc. parents should tell you not to be friends with them. Otherwise there bad parents! They want to protect you.

I have experience. Last year I had a friend I got in fights with ALL the time and at the end of the year we started doing REALLY mean things to eachother. This year she and I changed and I wanted to be friends with her. But my parents put there foot down. big NO. At first I was mad, but after reading ths they didn’t want me to go home crying every day like I used to.

-Kelly =]

They Shouldn’t flat out be able to tell you who TO be frineds with. They might think that Rebecca (A fake person) from your class is so sweet, helpful, and responsible. Then they could say,”Ok Honie Go be frineds with rebecca, she’s so sweet.” When deep down you know she isn’t ALL THAT. You saw her trip a new kid in school and laugh at her. Also, she and her friends are creating a slam book, which has a page for EVERY person they know. With comments (Maybe not so nice ones) and Reports on Everyone. This is just one example. In some situations the parents might be blind about how this person is a double. Nice around grown-ups, Horrible to “certain” people. Step in and tell your parents how she really is. Then they will understand why you don’t want to be BFF’s 4 LIFE with her. But don’t use this as an advantage. It’s great to tell parents the truth but don’t lie. They might ask you why you don’t hang around with Jackie any more. The truth might be that people make fun of her because she’s a little fat, and then YOU think YOU’LL be made fun of for hanging with her. In response to the parents’ question you could lie and say,”I hear she’s all into trouble now, and she might even smoke! I don’t want pure presure.” DON’T say it. As in an answer to the debate I think They Shouldn’t CHOOSE who you can and can’t be friends with, but don’t block out their opinion if they think your frined now is trouble. Don’t say,”MY FRIENDS, MY CHOICE!” And blow in their face. Do say,”Well, maybe she has been acting different lately. Thanks for telling me. I know you care.”

-Cocoa ;)

I don’t agree with Megan. Our parents should be able to tell us if we shouldn’t be friends with someone. IF they see that they are a bad influence they should be able to tell us not to be friends with them. I have a friend who is friends with the wrong person and it is changing her drastically in a bad way because her parents don’t step in! I believe very strongly that parents should have influence.

I agree with megan! Figuring stuff out for ourselves such as what people we want to be with affects our lives! The more mistakes you make the more you learn! And you should make mistakes for yourselves!

I think parents should have somesay but just enough not to push you to the edge. I think they should meet them and know a little about them. So they know who their daughter is hanging out with.

Not always, I mean, if your friends with like… idk… a kid who lives in detention and does bad stuff, then YA! Especialy since they may rub off on you. In that case, your parents SHOULD have a say. But by just telling you “you can’t be friends with her”, you don’t learn anything. If your parents want you to learn from your mistakes, they should let you realize that this is a bad person to hang out with, and let you deal with it. If your parents just don’t really like your friend, then they don’t have a right to say “don’t be friends with Sarah, I don’t like her”, but to prevent an awkward situation, just don’t invite her over all too much ;]

I love you all!

-nel-

I think it really depends on the sitch… I mean, i dont want 2 get into that “bad stuff”, but i want 2 choose my own frnds.

I think that we, as kids, need to have most of the lay way when it comes to friend choices, because part of making friends is also learning how to use good judjement, and being able to socialize freely, and if parents suddenly chose all our friends for us, then we would never use those skills when it comes to friend making. So, as Megan from Ohio said, we would be complete dunces in the adult world! Now, if a parent really, truly, thinks that something bad is happening with this particular friend, they should be alloud to say something to you, but unless something really does happen, in my oppinion, they should not be permitted to end the friendship completely. Think about it, how are we ever going to be safe if we never know how to make good friends on our own?

-Maddy

I think that parents should not have a choice to chose your friends but I think they still should have a say if you are hanging out with the wrong crowd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parents have a lot more experience with friends then kids do. If you really like your friend, but she does drugs or tries to get you doing things that don’t feel right, you should tell your parent. You should be able to tell if your friend is a good influence.

this is YOU’re life and YOU get to decide weather or not YOU want to be that persons friend.

i don’t know about parent choosing your friends. parents are there to help you make the right choices.however, don’t forget you have to follow your heart. brilliant beautiful brunette

Parents should have a tiny bit of say in girls friendships. I think if one of your parents finds a “bad” thing out about your friend it’s a bad idea to stay friends with them. I was in a friendship where the girl was nice, and the mom was not. My mom was friend with the mom, but she started being mean to her. So because my friends mom did not like my mom my friend did not like me. So if your mom says “NO” to a friendship think about her reason for saying that.

Okay, here’s my opinion: I don’t think parents should, like, meet everyone that u r going 2 be around and say who u can and can’t be friends with. I met one of my friends at day camp in the summer and if my mom or dad had to meet everyone b4 I was friends w/ them then I wouldn’t have been able to hang out w/ some of the girls I met at camp. But I don’t think parents should totally be out of your life w/ your friends. I mean, my bff and I meet each other at the library, but we didn’t run into each other by conincidence: my mom and her mom had arranged for us to go down to the library so my mom could meet my bff’s mom and I could meet my bff and her sisters. So no, I don’t think parents should be able to decide who you can and can’t be friends with. But I also don’t think that parents can’t have anything to do with ur friendships. And if ur friend it a bad influence and hangs out with bad kids and stuff like that, then your parents should be able to say something. But they shouldn’t just say, “quit hangin’ out w/ Jess.” (fake person). They should say, “[your name here], we think that Jess (fake person) gets into trouble alot, and we don’t want her to have a bad influence on you.” Then since ur used to hangin w/ Jess, they should say, “u can only c her once a week,” then every other week, then once a month, then not at all, so u get used 2 not c-ing her.

i think in some cases they can cause if your parent thinks a kid is bad news litsen to them. cause i you do not they just might get you into trouble. i also think no because you may know this kid more than your parents do but if they say this kid is bad news listen!!!!!!!!

~alexandra

Because your parents want to protect you from all kinds of danger. And even though you think this person is pretty cool, they might see something in their personality that could effect you negatively. Your parents just love you. Although there could be a friend that isn’t all that bad, but your parents still don’t trust them completely. Maybe you could tell them more about this friend of yours. - Gypsy Girl