As parents, we care a lot about who and what influences our kids. Which is why we raise a red flag when our teens start hanging out with the wrong crowd.

Maybe you’re worried about your son or daughter’s friends. They’re misfits. The troublemakers. They don’t make eye contact with you. Why would your teen be hanging out with them in the first place?

Well, here’s how it works. Birds of a feather flock together. And your teen may be hanging with the “bad kids” because he can identify with them. He relates to their pain. And their mutual dysfunction helps them form a bond.

Does your teen have unsavory friends? My advice is to look past the externals and begin to see the pain that’s hiding underneath.

Don’t alienate them. Engage them.

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