TEENAGE PEER PRESSURE

Teenage peer pressure is a very serious problem that affects teenagers and many parents are lost and helpless when they are faced with this issue. A peer is someone almost the same age who shares similar values and interests. Peers often spend time together doing common activities and having fun together. When a teenager feels that he must do the same things as his peers in order to fit in, he/she is under peer pressure. This is a time where the teenager starts becoming rebellious and has a higher possibility of picking up bad habits such as smoking and drinking.

Positive Peer Pressure
Positive peer pressure causes teenagers to engage in meaningful and healthy activities with friends such as studying together, doing projects, playing games and going for barbecues and picnics.

Negative Peer Pressure
Negative Peer Pressure causes teenagers to engage in unhealthy and sometimes illegal activities that would only cause harm to himself/herself or other people. Examples of these activities are smoking, drinking, taking of drugs, spending money excessively and pre-marital sex.

Reasons Why Teenagers Listen More To Their Friends Than To Parents

Forming An Identity Of Their Own
During the growing up process, a teenager needs to form his own identity. He takes his friends' view and opinions into consideration and tries them out. He starts to form his own ideas of life, learns to make decisions and responsibility for the choices and actions done.

Emotional Support In Peer Groups
As a teenager is learning to live a life that is independent of his parents, there are times where he/she will face the feeling of being lonely which can be rather frightening at times. Therefore, it is natural to seek out people who are experiencing the same things for emotional support.

Building A Strong Foundation To Resist Negative Peer Pressure

• To prevent teenagers from falling negative peer pressure, there are a few important things that have to be done.
• Instilling the right values from young would allow the child to be able to know what is right and wrong.
• Building up your child's self esteem and having a trusting relationship with him/her would enable both parent and child to be closer.
• Training your child to make decisions and solve his own problems and to take responsibility and account for his/her actions is essential in character building. Creating opportunities and teaching your child how to handle friends would help him widen his social circle and at the same time equip him with interaction skills. It is also important to help your child develop a sense of purpose in life so that he/she knows what he wants and would work to achieving it.

Solutions If Teenager Refuses To Heed Advice

Most of the time teenagers would not heed the advice of their parents during that phase of their lives. Parents can try to discuss with the teenager about the friend that they mix with in a good manner. If the teenager agrees that he is under negative pressure and whished to do something about it, it is important to teach him/her decision-making skills and how to resist the pressure. If he disagrees that he is under negative peer pressure, continue to talk to him/her and ask him to share why he/she thinks they are not under negative peer pressure. If the teenager insists on having his way, let him/she know the consequences and hold them accountable for their actions.