www.som360.org/es

How should we act if we don't like our children's friends or their partners?

Marta Pardo
Marta Pardo Gallego
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Clinical Head of the alternative to hospitalization program.
Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona

In general, it's advisable to avoid making judgments or expressing prejudices about their friends or partners , as this can trigger an alarming or aggressive reaction. If we don't like their company or they're reluctant to explain who they are, it's best to ask questions calmly and with genuine curiosity. Show real interest not so much in knowing what their friends or partners are like (which is closer to interrogation), but in truly understanding what they like about them, how they make them feel, what they bring to their lives, and what criteria they use to choose friends. If we offer them space and show interest, they'll feel more connected. It's from this connection that they can express any doubts, insecurities, or concerns they may have.

madre e hija adolescente
Mother and teenage daughter

I believe you have every right and it may also be important to convey to him in a non-derogatory way what you think, but in the end you will have to accept that he is also free to have whatever friends he wants unless they put him in danger or expose him in some way (Teenage daughter).

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Marta Pardo
Marta Pardo Gallego
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist. Clinical Head of the alternative to hospitalization program.
Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona
madre e hija adolescente
Mother and teenage daughter