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Peer Pressure
By peace | August 8, 2007
A peer is someone almost the same age as you who shares similar values and interests. Peers often spend time together in common activities. When a teenager feels that he must do the same things as his peers in order to be accepted, he is under peer pressure.
There are two types of peer pressure — the positive peer pressure and the negative peer pressure. The positive peer pressure causes the teenager to engage in meaningful and healthy activities with friends. Examples of positive peer pressure are doing homework and projects together, playing games and going for barbecues and picnics. Negative peer pressure, on the other hand, causes the teenager to engage in activities that are harmful to himself and also probably to other people. Negative peer pressure is what parents would be worried about for their teens. Some examples of negative peer pressure are pressure to smoke, drink, take drugs, buy branded goods and even engage in pre-marital sex.
In my opinion, the best way to help the teens to resist from negative peer pressure is through education. Parents should instill the right values when the child is young. Parents should also spend time with their children, build trusting relationship with the child. Only through building up close relationship can the children ‘listen’ and respect you. For example, if you tell them drug taking is bad, why is it bad for them. We need to tell them what really is drugs and then the consequences of taking drugs. For example, we need to tell them drugs are bad for their health and people who take drugs will need to be sent to drug rehab for treatment. Taking drugs is not a long term solution to problem at all. We need to tell them to learn to face problems and solve problems in life.
I believe that we always need to communicate with our children. Tell them our problems and tell them what is on our mind also. By sharing with them our own problems, they would know that even we adults have our own problems, and we are always solving our own problems. I do not take drugs nor do I steal to solve my problems. When the child did the right thing, we praise them. When they did the wrong thing, we correct them. By doing so, I hope that my children will be turn out to be responsible teenagers and they would be able to resist negative peer pressure.
