Moms Talk: Dealing with an Inappropriate Friend

While you might hate to admit it, sooner or later, your child might become friends with someone you don’t like. This could be based on something small, perhaps the child has an annoying quirk, or it could be a major reason for concern, especially if you think this friend is encouraging your child to drink, skip school or do drugs.

While it’s not as extreme, Moms Council member Kelly McCarron is in a similar situation. She was shocked when she read an inappropriate email from her 11-year-old son’s new friend. Here’s what she had to say:

“My son has an acquaintance who recently emailed him for the first time. Since my husband and I preview all of the email prior to him reading it, I was shocked to find the email from this peer was laced with profanity and inappropriate references.

“I promptly instructed him never to email or speak with my son again.

“I let my son know that he was not an acceptable peer, and my son seemed relieved since he didn’t really want to talk with this young man to begin with.

“The boy’s parents recently approached me, and they are trying to forge a friendship between the two boys. Should I tell them about the email their son sent? I was hoping to avoid the topic all together, but it doesn’t seem to be going away.

“How would you handle it?"

What do you think Moms? Is there an appropriate way to handle this situation? Do you check your child's email?

As always, Moms Talk is open to anyone who wants to comment. If you have a question you would like our panel of experts to answer, please send it to Jessica.Sinichak@patch.com