Scouting, Volume 48, Number 7, October 1960 Page: 7
40 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Parents can't choose a teen-
ager's friends, but they can
help to guide him in his choice.
"At this point, I knew I had a difficult decision to
make, the father told me. "I had not wanted to buy the
boy a car because of the dangerous way teen-agers drive.
Yet I knew that if I didn't, he would risk his life anyway
by riding in his friend's jalopy—and, also, there would
continue to be reason for him to hang out with that gang.
"In the end. we compromised. Together we spent sev-
eral days looking over cars in secondhand lots. We even-
tually found one in safe condition that was exactly what
he wanted. As a condition to getting the car, the boy
agreed to drive safely. If he didn't, he understood it
would be sold immediately."
Next Sunday evening, the father was pleased to see
the car parked in front of a church; the boy, for the first
time in months, was inside attending a young people's
meeting. Gradually, he has drifted away from the bad
gang.
You may agree with the father's actions. You may not.
But you can. with a little thought, invent alternatives and
devices which are satisfactory to you and at the same
time freeze out bad influences. Here are some that I've
seen work:
Added home duties. You can pick a time for them that
will preclude presence on street corners during the hour
or two when the gang usually hangs out there.
A part-time job. When there's too much leisure, you
might approach your teen-ager along these lines: "Mary,
I know you want that new coat very badly. I can't afford
that much money. But if you'll take a part-time job, I'll
match anything you earn toward it."
Hobbies. You and your teen-ager's teachers can help
by introducing new hobbies. The people with whom he
will come in contact while "riding a hobby" will gener-
ally be more challenging than those who do not have
such interests. Before you know it, new friends will re-
place those less desirable.
School activities. Do anything yon can to encourage,
and make time available for athletics, the Y, Scout work,
and similar activities. Surprisingly few boys and girls
get into trouble when they're busy with groups such as
these.
More family life. Are you with your children enough?
Perhaps not. if you re honest about it. I've seen boys
weaned away from bad company after their fathers took
more interest in them. One father and son built a barbe-
cue pit together in their back yard. Now the pit is the
center of teen-age parties, and the parents know where
and with whom their boy is. The same thing happened
with a recreation room that a father and son built to-
gether.
Revise your own entertaining. Perhaps you invite
only adults to the house. Your teen-ager may not find
them, or your bridge, stimulating. Why not extend din-
ner invitations to couples with youngsters his age? Tell
them to bring their youngsters along. Firm new friend-
ships can be established that way.
You'll note that many of the things I've recommended
(Continued on page 34)
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Boy Scouts of America. Scouting, Volume 48, Number 7, October 1960, periodical, October 1960; New Brunswick, New Jersey. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth329289/m1/9/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Boy Scouts of America National Scouting Museum.