About Peer
Pressure
Understandably, most parents will go to any lengths to make sure that their children do
not get into any trouble. They have never-ending arguments with their children about what’s right and what’s wrong;
what they should do and what they shouldn’t.
Knowing that they cannot follow their kids everywhere and knowing about teenagers vulnerability
to succumbing to unwholesome peer pressure, most of the conversations revolve around making the right choices and selecting
the ‘right people’ to imitate.
This article about Teenagers and Peer Pressure might help.
Parents with teenagers
You do need to try and keep your bias and prejudice from clouding your own judgment
and only intervene if your child is likely to come to significant harm. Just because you do not like your child’s friends
or their behavior does not mean they are harmful to your child. Save your interventions for when it really matters. To get
involved when matters are trivial may be perceived as meddling and put your teenage children on the defensive and make them
resentful.
Kids will always be kids; and by their very nature, kids are bound to make mistakes
along their journey of self discovery. This is all to true about teenagers growing up. What makes the big difference is how
you as the parent react to your kids mistakes.
Peer pressure vs. Responsibility
Kids easily get into the habit of blaming their peers just so that they can get off
the hook. All children not just teenagers need learn that they themselves are accountable for their own actions. They need
to accept part of the blame if they are hanging around if these friends. Choosing an appropriate circle of friends is a part
and parcel of learning to be responsible.
There may be
occasions however when your child may well be
innocent and that it was 100% his friend’s fault. Even if you believe them,
that will not stop him from getting into trouble if only because he made the mistake of choosing the wrong person to hang
out with at the wrong place at the wrong time.
