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For example, if asked to skip school, your child may suggest instead getting together directly after school and including more friends. Sometimes it will be best for the child to avoid explaining and justifying their refusal to participate as that can lead to more pressure and arguing. When necessary, a child may need to simply repeat an assertive and firm “no” to peer requests. While children need some level of independence to develop autonomy and decision-making skills, parents also have a responsibility to monitor their child’s behavior and ensure their safety. Finding the right balance between independence and supervision can help children feel supported while also giving them room to grow. Along with independence, children can benefit from learning how to communicate effectively, make friends, and handle conflicts in healthy ways.
Anyone can face challenges in dealing with peer pressure related to alcohol or marijuana. ” you may hear from your twelve-year-old when you know the party will be unsupervised. Children/Teens ages are in the process of carving out their identity, and their measuring stick is often their peers’ opinions and approval. Peers influence what’s acceptable and what’s popular. Yet, risk taking is actually a necessary developmental behavior for children/teens ages to exercise their responsible decision-making abilities. Issues like peer pressure are often ignored by the parents as they are more evidently seen in younger kids.
Develop social skills
This newfound empathy can create social anxiety, and they may make incorrect assumptions about peers’ impressions of them adding to a heightened sensitivity. They may feel like they are “on stage” being judged by classmates regularly. And, their need to belong becomes even greater as they assert their independence. These challenges arise as a normal part of your child’s/teen’s development.
So I understand and support parents when the situation is too critical to worry about boundaries. On the other hand, generally I think kids should be able to pick their own music, clothes and makeup. Unless there’s some moral problem with the way they’re dressing, this is a fight you don’t want to have—and you want to pick your fights carefully. I know that sexuality and clothing is a particularly sensitive area. While I think clothing shouldn’t be a big argument, I think kids, particularly adolescent girls, often dress in a very sexualized way today.
Step 3. Practice to Grow Skills and Develop Habits
” Hearing consequences said aloud can also get peers thinking and potentially changing their minds about the very thing they were pressuring others to do. You can play an important role in this process by helping your kids https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/boredom-drinking-and-how-to-stop-it/ learn to make good choices when they’re being influenced—for better or worse—by their peers. Having had severe behavioral problems himself as a child, he was inspired to focus on behavioral management professionally.
But he was also being pressured to do something that would hurt another person — in this case, his brother. There are many people, siblings or not, who would have given in to the crowd and who would have put their need for acceptance over doing what’s right for someone else. No matter how old your child/teen which of the following is a type of indirect peer pressure? is, your praise and encouragement are their sweetest reward. Reminding yourself that every child and every family have different needs at different times can be helpful to keep PPP at bay. See the sidebar for helpful information on a number of topics we find parents commonly have questions about.