I air on the side of caution. My stepson was allowed by his father to 'hang' with older kids. This was bad news. I won't go into the details but the last I saw of him was when I had the police remove him.

My first instinct is to ask, what is in it for these older kids to pay attention to the younger? This is a good indication a problem exists whereby they have difficulty getting on with peers their own age. Try then to observe these other youth. Who else do they have in their inner circle and what sorts of youngsters are they. A significantly older youth befriending a younger child often indicates the older is struggling. If so why? Again, observe, observe, observe.

I wasn't able to act on my concerns. If you can, act upon your own.