All of us, and perhaps teenagers especially, seek out others who we unconsciously believe we are most like. If a child has a less than positive picture of himself or herself, he or she will select those friends who are most like that picture—even if those friends are the wrong kind of friends. Give the child a better self-image, a better self-picture, and he will choose more of his friends from the group that fits the same kind of picture. If a teenager is told he’s no good, and believes it, he’ll find others who are just as no good, or worse.
