# Friends the parents dislike

**What do we do about friends we do not like?**

How you respond when you do not like your teen's friends: forbid contact, limit and supervise, or voice concern and stay out of it.

In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Forbid contact; Limit settings and supervise; Voice concern, keep the friend close; No interference. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: tween.

- Area: The teen years
- Evidence: Your call
- Best settled: Tween
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/the-teen-years--friends-the-parents-dislike

## Friends the parents dislike: what are the options?

1. **Forbid contact**: You ban the teen from seeing the friend.
2. **Limit settings and supervise**: You allow contact only in places you can supervise.
3. **Voice concern, keep the friend close**: You say what worries you and invite the friend into your home.
4. **No interference**: You stay out of it.

## Friends the parents dislike: what does the evidence say?

**Your call.** No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.

No outcome research gathered on this yet — treat it as a preference.

## What else is worth knowing?

Banning a friendship often makes it more attractive. Keeping the friend close lets you see what is happening. Safety concerns are a different matter from simple dislike.

## Questions to ask each other

- What would make us worry about a friend?
- How would we handle it without pushing our child toward them?
- At what point would we step in about a friend?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=the-teen-years&topic=the-teen-years--friends-the-parents-dislike