8 Things Parents Can Do About Toxic Teenage Friendships and Bullying

By /

Toxic teenage friendships and bullying are nothing new, but that doesn’t mean they’re not concerning. 

Teens who experience toxic friendships and/or bullying can take a significant hit to their self-esteem, emotional well-being, and overall mental health. Worse, these consequences can have long-reaching ramifications, especially for teens who struggle with a condition such as depression or anxiety. 

As a parent, it can feel helpless to see your teen used by friends, purposefully left out, or targeted by bullying behavior. But there are things you can do, and they start with recognizing the signs of bullying and teenage friendship issues, understanding the effects, and taking steps to support your teen. 

Read on to learn more about toxic friendships and bullying in the teen years – and the role that parents play in helping teens cope. 

Toxic Friendships vs. Bullying: What’s the Difference?

It’s easy to conflate toxic friendships with bullying, but they’re not quite the same. 

  • Toxic friendships are unhealthy peer relationships that involve manipulation, exclusion, or emotional harm, even if not overtly aggressive.
  • Bullying is aggressive behavior meant to cause harm, to intimidate, or to exert control. 

Types of Teenage Bullying

Bullying isn’t always easy to spot, and it can take different forms. Some bullying is obvious, like physical aggression, while other types—like exclusion or online harassment—can be more subtle but just as harmful. Here are some common ways teens experience bullying:

  • Physical bullying: This includes hitting, pushing, tripping, or even damaging personal belongings. It’s often the easiest to recognize but not always reported.
  • Verbal bullying: Includes name-calling, cruel teasing, insults, and threats. 
  • Relational bullying: Also known as social bullying, this happens when a teen is purposely excluded, has rumors spread about them, or is turned against by friends. 
  • Cyberbullying: Social media, texting, and online platforms make it easier than ever for bullying to happen beyond school walls. This can include harassment through hurtful or threatening messages, public humiliation from embarrassing photos or personal information being shared without consent, fake accounts created to impersonate or mock someone, and intentional exclusion from online groups or chats.

Signs of Teenage Friendship Issues

You won’t be witness to every social encounter your teen has – and that’s a good thing! Teens benefit from independence and learning how to navigate tricky situations on their own. That being said, look out for signs your teen is struggling with a toxic friendship, including things like:

  • Sudden mood changes
  • Avoidance of social situations
  • Declining self-esteem
  • Frequent conflicts with friends
  • Anxiety over checking messages or social media
  • Changes in sleep or eating habits
  • Withdrawal from previously enjoyed hobbies or activities

The rejection and cruelty imposed by teens with poisonous attitudes can trickle down into how your child behaves and feels. If you notice the signs above, open up a conversation with your child and try to listen more than you talk. You might not be able to resolve the situation right away, but you could help your teen recognize that something is off and start to figure out why. 

How Toxic Friendships and Bullying Impact Teen Mental Health

Friendships play an essential role in the teen years, helping young people shape their identity, develop social skills, and discover their own self-worth. So, what happens if those relationships are toxic?

Teens at the receiving end of a toxic peer’s behavior, including bullying, can suffer from a range of mental health issues, including:

  • Increased anxiety and depression: Symptoms can begin or worsen due to the constant stress of a toxic relationship. 
  • Low self-worth: Teens with unkind and/or unsupportive friends may feel unimportant, manipulated, or otherwise damaged in their self-esteem. 
  • Risky behaviors: Some teens may engage in harmful behaviors to fit in or cope with the emotional pain of a toxic friendship. 
  • Academic decline: Toxic peer relationships can lead to emotional distress at school and an inability to concentrate. 
  • Social isolation: Teens may withdraw from healthy friendships and support systems, either at the behest of a toxic friend or in response to their behavior. 

9 Ways Parents Can Help

When it comes to helping teens move on from toxic friendships or cope with bullying, you’re not as powerless as you might think. On the flip side, parents and caregivers play an important role in breaking the cycle, not just helping teens cut ties with toxic friends but teaching them what a healthy relationship looks like. Here are some ways to do it. 

1. Encourage open conversation: Create a safe space for your teen to talk about their social struggles. 

2. Teach healthy relationship boundaries: Talk to your teen about what a supportive friendship looks and feels like. 

3. Validate feelings: Let your teen know their emotions are valid and that they don’t have to tolerate mistreatment from peers. 

4. Help build self-esteem: Encourage activities and relationships that reinforce your child’s self-worth. 

5. Encourage positive friendships: Support your teen’s involvement in clubs, sports, or activities with like-minded peers. 

6. Set digital boundaries: Schedule family-wide screen breaks to reduce exposure to online toxicity. 

7. Teach conflict resolution skills: Help your teen navigate difficult conversations and situations and assert themselves in a healthy way.

8. Work with the school to address bullying: If your teen is being bullied to a severe degree, communicate with their school to ensure the proper measures are taken. Schools often have policies in place to handle bullying, and working with teachers or administrators can help create a safer environment for your child.

9. Consider professional support: If toxic friendships are severely affecting your teen’s mental health, therapy or teen residential treatment may be necessary. 

Professional Support for Teen Mental Health

Seeing your teen used by friends, hurt, neglected, or otherwise at the receiving end of bullying behavior is painful as a parent. It’s also a sign that it’s time to take action. Parental support and open communication make all the difference in managing bullies and toxic teenage friendships. At Paradigm Treatment, we’re here to help you however we can. Explore our website for expert guidance on adolescent social struggles and mental health, and contact us to learn about residential treatment options for teen mental health issues.

Paradigm Treatment Blog

8 Things Parents Can Do About Toxic Teenage Friendships and Bullying

  1. Home
  2. Mental Health
  3. 8 Things Parents Can Do About Toxic Teenage Friendships and Bullying

Mar 10, 2025

Teen Treatment

Toxic teenage friendships and bullying are nothing new, but that doesn’t mean they’re not concerning. 

Teens who experience toxic friendships and/or bullying can take a significant hit to their self-esteem, emotional well-being, and overall mental health. Worse, these consequences can have long-reaching ramifications, especially for teens who struggle with a condition such as depression or anxiety. 

As a parent, it can feel helpless to see your teen used by friends, purposefully left out, or targeted by bullying behavior. But there are things you can do, and they start with recognizing the signs of bullying and teenage friendship issues, understanding the effects, and taking steps to support your teen. 

Read on to learn more about toxic friendships and bullying in the teen years – and the role that parents play in helping teens cope. 

Toxic Friendships vs. Bullying: What’s the Difference?

It’s easy to conflate toxic friendships with bullying, but they’re not quite the same. 

  • Toxic friendships are unhealthy peer relationships that involve manipulation, exclusion, or emotional harm, even if not overtly aggressive.

  • Bullying is aggressive behavior meant to cause harm, to intimidate, or to exert control. 

Types of Teenage Bullying

Bullying isn’t always easy to spot, and it can take different forms. Some bullying is obvious, like physical aggression, while other types—like exclusion or online harassment—can be more subtle but just as harmful. Here are some common ways teens experience bullying:

  • Physical bullying: This includes hitting, pushing, tripping, or even damaging personal belongings. It’s often the easiest to recognize but not always reported.

  • Verbal bullying: Includes name-calling, cruel teasing, insults, and threats. 

  • Relational bullying: Also known as social bullying, this happens when a teen is purposely excluded, has rumors spread about them, or is turned against by friends. 

  • Cyberbullying: Social media, texting, and online platforms make it easier than ever for bullying to happen beyond school walls. This can include harassment through hurtful or threatening messages, public humiliation from embarrassing photos or personal information being shared without consent, fake accounts created to impersonate or mock someone, and intentional exclusion from online groups or chats.

Signs of Teenage Friendship Issues

You won’t be witness to every social encounter your teen has – and that’s a good thing! Teens benefit from independence and learning how to navigate tricky situations on their own. That being said, look out for signs your teen is struggling with a toxic friendship, including things like:

  • Sudden mood changes

  • Avoidance of social situations

  • Declining self-esteem

  • Frequent conflicts with friends

  • Anxiety over checking messages or social media

  • Changes in sleep or eating habits

  • Withdrawal from previously enjoyed hobbies or activities

The rejection and cruelty imposed by teens with poisonous attitudes can trickle down into how your child behaves and feels. If you notice the signs above, open up a conversation with your child and try to listen more than you talk. You might not be able to resolve the situation right away, but you could help your teen recognize that something is off and start to figure out why. 

How Toxic Friendships and Bullying Impact Teen Mental Health

Friendships play an essential role in the teen years, helping young people shape their identity, develop social skills, and discover their own self-worth. So, what happens if those relationships are toxic?

Teens at the receiving end of a toxic peer’s behavior, including bullying, can suffer from a range of mental health issues, including:

  • Increased anxiety and depression: Symptoms can begin or worsen due to the constant stress of a toxic relationship. 

  • Low self-worth: Teens with unkind and/or unsupportive friends may feel unimportant, manipulated, or otherwise damaged in their self-esteem. 

  • Risky behaviors: Some teens may engage in harmful behaviors to fit in or cope with the emotional pain of a toxic friendship. 

  • Academic decline: Toxic peer relationships can lead to emotional distress at school and an inability to concentrate. 

  • Social isolation: Teens may withdraw from healthy friendships and support systems, either at the behest of a toxic friend or in response to their behavior. 

9 Ways Parents Can Help

When it comes to helping teens move on from toxic friendships or cope with bullying, you’re not as powerless as you might think. On the flip side, parents and caregivers play an important role in breaking the cycle, not just helping teens cut ties with toxic friends but teaching them what a healthy relationship looks like. Here are some ways to do it. 

1. Encourage open conversation: Create a safe space for your teen to talk about their social struggles. 

2. Teach healthy relationship boundaries: Talk to your teen about what a supportive friendship looks and feels like. 

3. Validate feelings: Let your teen know their emotions are valid and that they don’t have to tolerate mistreatment from peers. 

4. Help build self-esteem: Encourage activities and relationships that reinforce your child’s self-worth. 

5. Encourage positive friendships: Support your teen’s involvement in clubs, sports, or activities with like-minded peers. 

6. Set digital boundaries: Schedule family-wide screen breaks to reduce exposure to online toxicity. 

7. Teach conflict resolution skills: Help your teen navigate difficult conversations and situations and assert themselves in a healthy way.

8. Work with the school to address bullying: If your teen is being bullied to a severe degree, communicate with their school to ensure the proper measures are taken. Schools often have policies in place to handle bullying, and working with teachers or administrators can help create a safer environment for your child.

9. Consider professional support: If toxic friendships are severely affecting your teen’s mental health, therapy or teen residential treatment may be necessary. 

Professional Support for Teen Mental Health

Seeing your teen used by friends, hurt, neglected, or otherwise at the receiving end of bullying behavior is painful as a parent. It’s also a sign that it’s time to take action. Parental support and open communication make all the difference in managing bullies and toxic teenage friendships. At Paradigm Treatment, we’re here to help you however we can. Explore our website for expert guidance on adolescent social struggles and mental health, and contact us to learn about residential treatment options for teen mental health issues.

Table of Contents

← Table of Content
Scroll to Top
Skip to content