Children are more exposed to peer pressure in their teenage years. Teenage years is the time when a child will find his/her new freedom and responsibility of doing things on their own. They start traveling on their own, receive some pocket money to spend on things that they want and many other things. In this post, we show you How To Handle Peer Pressure.
Often, during these times teenagers will go overboard and try to imitate their friends blindly. They will keep pressing you to give them permission for late night parties, concerts or ask for more money. Today, one of the biggest challenges is the peer pressure to drink, smoke and take drugs. If your children is not well advised about the consequences of these wrong things, then they will easily fall into this trap.
Many a time children try out these things inorder not to offend their friends and fit into the crowd. Sometimes, even though they are aware of the bad consequences, they try out these things thinking that it is just a matter of a moment and they will not do it again. However, in reality, drug addiction, substance abuse and early sex encounters tarnish their minds, soul, and body. During these sensitive growing up years of children, it is important to guide them and show them the right path.
Peer pressure can have a positive or negative influence on children. For e.g., some friends may teach them the concepts of maths in an easy way or they may have some friends who will alway encourage and motivate them when they are down. On the flip side, there may be other friends who will encourage them to drink alcohol or take drugs. They may also force them to bunk their classes with them. In short, peer pressure can help build your child positively or can also impact their lives negatively.
It is natural for your children to get influenced by people in their age group i.e., their friends and peers. Many children will give excuses that as everyone is doing these things, we will also do them and thus they will not follow wise discretion. Inculcate in them the self-confidence to say a firm “No” and walk away from any tempting wrong activity.
Always encourage your children to be around those who have similar values and upbringing. It becomes much easier when your child has a friend or peer who supports them.
How To Handle Peer Pressure
Let us look at some tips which can help our children handle peer pressure.
1. Have a good family support system.
Children need good family support. This is one of the most important things in any child’s life. Whenever there is a free, secure and loving environment at home, children are bound to succumb less to peer pressure. Children who are constantly admonished or unhappy at home always try to find an approval from outside their home.
2. Ensure that you have good communication between your children.
Many parents are so busy with their day to day work schedule that there is hardly any time for their children.There are days when there is no conversation between parents and children.
Communication is very important. It is not only about providing the needs of your child and loving them but it is also about being there for them when they need you the most. And in reality, it is not difficult. All you need to do is to sit with your child every day and casually chat with them about their day. Make it a practice to have family dinner or family prayer time together. These things help in building the family bond and love.
Share with them your own childhood memories, both good and bad. They should also know that you had faced similar teenage challenges but you chose to be obedient to your parents. Tell them that you too made mistakes which were bad but have learned from those mistakes. Your children will appreciate your open and frank behavior. This will help them to trust you and be more forthcoming in sharing their concerns and dilemma with you.
[content-egg module=Amazon template=grid]3. Build your children’s self-confidence and self-esteem.
Self-confidence is a key thing while handling peer pressure. Encourage your child to be self-confident and help them build their self-esteem. Confident children are less likely to follow others and do something that they know is wrong. Encourage your child to take age-appropriate decisions. They should be encouraged to freely share their likes and dislikes. This will give them the confidence to speak their mind and stay firm for things that they believe in.
4. Know the family and parents of your children’s friends.
It is important to know the family background of your child’s friends. It is important to know their views and values. It would be good to have a mutually acceptable deadline for late nights, which is also acceptable to other parents.
It is important to know like-minded parents who have the same values and ethics. You can invite your child’s friends alongwith their parents for dinner. This will help in your parenting journey.
5. Siblings help the younger children in dealing with peer pressure.
Research has indicated that older siblings help the younger ones to handle peer pressure. The older children are next in line to their parents and so children are able to relate to them better. They share their concerns, happiness and take their advice in dealing with peer pressure. The support of the elder child also helps in building the self-confidence of the younger one. The elder child will help them in making better decisions.
6. Talk to your child clearly about smoking, drugs, alcohol, sex etc.
Always encourage your child to make healthy and wise decisions. Do not avoid talking to them about smoking, drugs, alcohol and sex. It is important to give them the correct information and the possible dangerous consequences of all these wrong decisions. Once your child is made well aware of the negative consequences, then they are less likely to fall for them.
Some other tips for handling peer pressure is listed below :
- Have clear-cut boundaries and reasonable rules.
- Encourage your children to choose good friends.
- Teach them to say a firm “No”.
- Ensure that they get your full support when it is needed. For e.g. a code word when they sense some danger or are being forced to do wrong things in a party etc.
- Teach your children to trust their instincts and make wise decisions.
These are some of the things which can help you to guide your teenagers to avoid peer pressure. It is important to raise your children properly so that they are able to take responsible decisions.
Hope you enjoyed this article on How To Handle Peer Pressure. For more similar articles please like and subscribe to our Youtube channel and our newsletter.
Please read our earlier article How to prevent bullying in school.
Please check out our Smart Shops.
Tags: How To Handle Peer Pressure, peer pressure
