Lay the Groundwork Early

Jan Wilson at SOLO for Singles writes “School age children transfer more and more allegiance from their family to their peer group each year. By the time your child is a young teenager, you will have powerful competition from the peer group. That is the way it will be, like it or not. At this point your prior discipline should lead your teenager to self-control.” If you have done your job well, your teenager should be secure enough and have enough self-esteem to be able to stand up and say “NO” when the situation warrants it.