Peer Pressure

On the last day of writing final papers of my teenagers high school exams, temptations came calling! She went partying with friends!!

Peer Pressure on a teenager can be either positive or negative.

The positive pressure should be encouraged while the negative pressure must be discouraged and totally prevented.

The positive pressure occurs when your teenager is attracted to the right set of crowd. This means, the teenagers group of friends are those that have focus and are right thinking.
How do you get these set of youngsters? Chemistry say's 'like mind attract'. Encourage your teenager to attend church or religious group meetings that encourage focus and ensures that he/she is always with a positively minded group.

Do not discourage his/her friends from visiting!
Knowing the type of friends your teenager associates with helps you to understand the kind of pressure he/she may be subjected to.

This last term of high school has been the most challenging. The sense of belonging that can be obtained from joining friends to participate in such things as Sexual escapades, Illegal Partying, Drugs and Alcholol imbibing, Carrying Firearms and Knives, Wearing Fashionable (sometimes exposing and hip styled) Dresses. The list of bad habits can be endless!

I have been forced as a result of these various types of pressures to discuss issues I would ordinarily consider 'not for teenage ears!' This ensures that I can pass a positive opinion and in a conducive atmosphere ensure that the opinion is well received and will help my teenager to withstand unnecessary pressure.

Metting out punishment can sometimes help to bring your teenager back to track, but most of the time puts their back up!! My teenager tells me 'you should be able to know what I can do! how long will it take you to understand me? As if I don't!! She believes I must take sides with her even when I know she's only partially right and never criticize. Hmm.

Most of the time I shout right back, that, with experience, she will get to know that parents are most likely always right!
Realistically, when I calm down, I relate experiences of other's who have fallen victim of similar circumstances and their results (sometimes unpleasant or fatal). This has helped to bring my teenager back to line. I especially use examples that are close to home.

Punishments like stopping allowances and grounding the teenager may help in specific cases but should not be overused as this can create other problems. It can cause boredom and encourage your teenage to pilfer or device alternative ways of funding!! For teenage girls, getting alternative funding can lead to a host of other problems; dating older men, prostitution, stealing.

Alternative help can be obtained from influential people around the teenager. In this instance, they could be favorite uncles and aunties whose opinion have always been important to your teenager. They could even be parents of their friends with whom you have been associating and have similar parenting values and opinions.

Let me know how you've been handling peer pressure in your teenager's life!! We must stick together and make the world a better place through our wonderful teens!!