Question
Hi have a soon to be 13 year old. He is in a new school, his old school was a Christian school. It has been somewhat of a struggle in middle school. From being the new student and being exposed to the real world. I did not realize how much I kept him in a bubble. In the beginning the kids made fun of him for being a Christian and not knowing all the fowl language and slang talking. I have had to explain the meaning of all of it etc.. anyway now there are kids who are inviting him over and are raised completely different. They are sometimes mean to others and he is trying to fit in with them. They are like the cool crowd. They have unsupervised parties for 7 and 8th grade at their home. The parents upstairs only bringing food downstairs. I’m seeing his behavior changing some to try and fit in. Like listening to not so nice music and using a little bad language. They still make fun of him listening to Christian music and most tell him they don’t believe in God bc they have never seen him. I’m struggling on whether to let him hang out with them. But there are only about 25 people in his grade and there are not a lot of options. They turn against you pretty quick and you get left out. Do I let him spend time with them outside of school and pray he makes good choices and stands up for his Faith or pull him back away and try to find others to be friends with. Unfortunately this is the real world and all through life this can happen. Also is this mostly immaturity of the middle school age?
