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Peer pressure can be challenging–after all, teens interact with their peers in person and on social media. However, we can teach teens how to handle uncomfortable situations. By sharing exit strategies with our teens, they will be equipped to avoid pressure-based problems. One of the defining characteristics of adolescence is the way social relationships become front and center in a teen’s life. While staying connected to the family was of great importance throughout childhood, now teen’s are slowly pulling away from the family unit. They are exploring the world around them, putting their friends first, and testing the limits their parents place before them.
We tend to label peer pressure as something that gets kids into trouble or situations they shouldn’t be in. But some peer pressure can be helpful, such as the kind that comes from being around motivated students. That’s the kind of pressure that can result in better grades. Also, competitive pressure from athletics can improve performance. So, it’s important to recognize that some peer pressure can have a positive influence on your child.
Talk about what makes a true friend
When pressure is high, and we’re feeling particularly vulnerable, we may decide on the easy choice. Understanding how you feel and acknowledging negative emotions can help steer a person away from making poor choices.
- But this shift also makes teens vulnerable to peer pressure, which can lead to poor and even dangerous decision making.
- Indulging in activities like smoking, drinking, using drugs, or sexual activities.
- Having a trusted friend, family member, or another resource to call on can alleviate some of the everyday life stresses.
- But some peer pressure can be helpful, such as the kind that comes from being around motivated students.
- Kids who feel good about themselves are less vulnerable to peer pressure.
- Peer pressure is the process by which members of the same social group influence other members to do things that they may be resistant to, or might not otherwise choose to do.
When someone is pressuring you to do something unhealthy, use eye contact and say “no” directly. If you have to explain yourself consider phrasing your thoughts in terms of, “I think, I will, I want.”
How to deal with suicidal thoughts and feelings
If something doesn’t feel right about a situation, it probably isn’t. Even if your friends seem ok with what is going on, the situation may not be right for you. Most kids have a strong desire to fit in and are especially sensitive to being picked on, made fun of, how to deal with peer pressure or ostracized. Consequently, they’re often eager to do the things their peers tell them to do. There will always be someone questioning your choices . What really matters in the end is whether the choices you make reflect your values and support your efforts.
As your child grows older, their peers will play a bigger role in their life. Friends can influence everything from what kind of music kids listen to and what their hobbies are to what they wear, how they spend their time, and how they talk. Peer pressure is the influence wielded by people within the same social group. It is also the term used to describe the effect this influence https://ecosoberhouse.com/ has on a person to conform in order to be accepted by the group. Often, peers are thought of as friends, but peers can be anyone of a similar status, such as people who are the same age, who have the same abilities, or who share a social status. Rather than offer support, some peers create a sense of guilt or even shame. Peer pressure can broadly impact a teen’s mental health.