It's claim is that parenting has nothing to do with how a child turns out and that it has everything to do with genetics and the friends your child keeps. And it's creating quite a dialogue between parents and kids, which is always a good thing. Author Judith Harris would say that a child's personality is determined half by genes and half by environment. But not the home environment that we are accustomed to hearing about. Harris states it's the environment of the day care center, the playground, the schools, the places where kids spend the majority of their time.
Conventional research disagrees.
Forehand states that parents lay the groundwork for children in their development and, as they mature and move on, peers play an increasing important role. As kids get older, they need to be monitored and parents should know who their peer group is so they can have some control and influence over that group. My friends affect me, but in the long run my deep psyche is going to be affected by my parents. They say that parental influence was very clear when they were younger, but now peers and the outside world have more influence in their lives.