Peer Pressure Vs. Parental Influence

Kids will gravitate towards and be influenced by their peers when they feel insecure at home. When they don’t feel loved or accepted, when they have no boundaries and when they are not getting training and guidance from their parents they will reach out to like minded souls. When they don’t have simple life skills to know how to handle situations or when circumstances are dangerous, they are easily sucked into harmful situations because they think others are having more fun than they are. When others have more input into kids lives than their parents do, the level of parental influence is greatly lessened.

So the question is, how can parents make sure they have more influence over their teens than other teens do? The first thing is to be proactive by talking to your kids well before they hit teen years. Make sure there is an open communication line by encouraging your kids to tell you what they are feeling. Listen to their opinions and ideas and praise their wisdom and good decisions. Prepare your kids by telling them the kinds of temptations they are likely to face. Tell them and show them how to say, “No” to propositions put to them like smoking, drinking, drugs and sexual experimentation. Help them understand how their bodies are changing and how their moods will be affected by changes in hormones. Remind them of what your family values are and the need to adhere to them for their own safety, comfort and security. Praise them and encourage them for good decisions made. Keep your teens busy. Encourage healthy physical activities like team sports, membership in service clubs, Scouts etc. This way they expend their energies in activities that often stretch their own ability. When they feel good about their achievements are much less likely to be swayed by negative peer pressure. Give your kids responsibilities to build accountability and trust in them. Monitor their friendships and if you find others influencing them negatively, tell them so in a non-judgmental way. Make your home a great place for them to bring their friends home to. Join in with some of their fun and you will find all their peers will want to hang around with you!

If you have any comments or success stories on this subject, please contact us on info@forefrontfamilies.org