Children, particularly teens, are affected tremendously by the peers they spend time with. In fact, the most direct influence on delinquent behavior in youth is a negative peer group. Parents need to be aware and concerned about the peers their child is spending time with.

So what can a parent do about this? After all they can' t supervise their kids 24/7.

Here are a few simple guidelines.

Make sure your kid is invovled in prosocial activities (i.e. sports, church youth groups, volunteer work, Boy/Girl Scouts, etc.) These activities put them in contact with high functioning peers.

Get to know their peers. You will get a better sense of your child and how they act around their peers. You may have to be creative with this, like having pizzas at your home or a movie night.

Get to know the parents of those peers. You will get a better sense if those parents  provide the level of monitoring you want for your child. Many kids will tell one thing to one set of parents and something else to the other set of parents. There is power in parents being connected to one another.

Monitor your kids activities. If your kid is telling you they are going over to Sally's house, make sure that happens. While kids' plans do change, keep your child honest by periodic "honesty" checks.

Keep a good relationship with your child. Kids are more likely to be honest about their peer group if they have a positive relationship with their parent.

Monitoring and supervising your child with their peers can be hard work, but the payoffs of that through preventing future problems is tremendous. Make sure you have your own supportive peer group to help you do this.