Would you allow your child to befriend another child who wasn't being raised in accordance to your belief system? You are/aren't a church-goer, and they're the opposite; you're a staunch conservative/liberal, and they're the very opposite, etc., etc.

It really depends. In general, I would....but if the kids parents are such extremists that they're raising an extremist kid, then I MAY not want mine around him or her if they're gonna be especially influential. Again it depends....

Marc™ wrote:

It really depends. In general, I would....but if the kids parents are such extremists that they're raising an extremist kid, then I MAY not want mine around him or her if they're gonna be especially influential. Again it depends....

I'm sure it may have happened because I didn't know the families of most of my daughter's friends. I do know that some of them included parents that did drugs; however, that didn't have effect ~ in spite of her challenges, she had a massive problem with drug use and wouldn't even touch pot.

When I was a kid, everybody we were friends with had parents like that, we were the only semi-functional family on the block, and most of the kids moved within a few months so we were never friends long, but I was with a couple of them who came from really screwed up homes, for several years. My best friend, we were not allowed to go in her house, especially if her father was home. But as kids, we didn't get what was going on, and my mother let us play together though she made it clear she didn't like the girl or her family.

Depends on how extreme those opposing views are and how much it has influenced the overall personality of the other kid. I haven't had this problem.

That's a really good question. When I was younger I had a friend who's parents were very liberal in what they let her do (write on her bedroom wall, curse, stay up late, watch Cinemax late night, etc.). Man, I used to come home with all kinds of ideas and my parents weren't having that shit. Even though everyone was cool with each other, my parents didn't approve of us hanging out too much, so they would let her come over our house or take me out of town to hang with relatives.

Most likely I would allow my child to keep the friend, but I would want to monitor their time together. I would hope that the values I instilled in my child are strong enough so he/she can understand that the other family is different, and not necessarily what is preferred. And I would also encourage my child to talk about what goes on in the other home, if for some reason they go inside.

Marc™ wrote:

It really depends. In general, I would....but if the kids parents are such extremists that they're raising an extremist kid, then I MAY not want mine around him or her if they're gonna be especially influential. Again it depends....

It would obviously depend on how much it would effect my child. But I don't really have anything against it, in theory.