The best way to handle peer pressure is to get involved in educating teens about its effect on them. Peer influence is when you choose to do something that you wouldn’t otherwise do, because you want to feel accepted and valued by your friends. It is not just or always about doing something against your will.
You may hear the term ‘peer pressure’ used a lot. But peer influence is a better way to describe how teens’ behavior is shaped by wanting to feel them in front of a group of friends or peers.
The influence of peer pressure can be positive for both adolescents and adults. For example, your child may be influenced to be more assertive, try new activities, or become more involved in school. But it can also be negative. Some teens may choose to try things that they would not normally be interested in, such as smoking or participating in antisocial activities.
Peer influence can result in children:
• choose the same clothes, hairstyle and jewelry as your friends
• listen to the same music or watch the same TV shows as your friends
• change the way they speak or the words they use
• breaking the rules
• working harder in school or not working as hard
• going out or participating in sexual activities
• Smoking or using drugs Another better strategy to cope well with peer influence is to strike the right balance between being yourself and fitting in with your group.
Some children are more likely to be negatively influenced by their peers, for example children who have low self-esteem, who feel they have few friends, and who have special needs. These children may feel that the only way to be included and accepted in social groups is by adopting the behavior, attitudes, and appearance of a group.
Children who have high self-esteem are better at resisting negative influence from their peers. If your child is happy with who he is and the decisions he makes, he is less likely to be influenced by other people. Self-esteem helps establish good relationships, and positive friendships also help self-esteem. Helping your child deal with peer pressure and influence is practically possible,
You may be concerned that your peers are overly influencing your child or that you are selling yourself on their (or yours) values to fit in with their friends. You may also be concerned that your child may not be able to say no if they feel pressured to try risky things, like smoking. But listening to the same music and dressing the same as friends doesn’t necessarily mean doing the same antisocial or risky things.
Your child can do some things that his friends do, but not others. You also have an influence on your child, especially in the long run. If your child has a strong sense of himself and his values, he is more likely to know where to draw the line when it comes to assessing risks. The best thing for us is knowing that every adolescent deserves love and patience and also educating the child’s mind to help him develop a great deal of self-confidence. Peer pressure can be a great motivator when given the right guidance.