Dr. Gabor Mate: Why Parents Matter More than Peers

More than ever before, children and teens today turn to peers rather than parents and other caring adults for emotional support, values, role models, codes of conduct, and defining their own identity. This overly skewed “peer orientation” disrupts healthy development, undermines family cohesion, and fosters an aggressive and prematurely sexualized youth culture.

Dr. Gabor Maté will discuss these parenting challenges and provide practical advice on how to nurture and restore stronger, more connected adult-child relationships. Topics covered will include: how peer orientation competes with important adult-child attachments, and how to recognize its signs; how peer orientation can lead to boredom, aggression, bullying, precocious sexuality, drug use, and developmental problems; and how to restore the healthy adult orientation of our children, including methods of discipline that do not alienate them but bring them closer.