Read about peer pressure in teenagers, teen
behavior and peers and peer groups and relationships.
Peer Pressure In Teenagers
Peer pressure means being influenced or pushed over
by friends to do something that you would not wish to do otherwise.
Adolescence is an age when teenagers try to create an identity for
themselves. They have a desperate need to belong to a group and thus,
often end up becoming a soft target for peer pressure. Bad advice,
curiosity to try something that everyone else is indulging in or just
the fear of being teased by friends (for not doing what others are
doing) lead teens to do things they would rather not do, if left to
their better judgment.
A teenager is exposed to several groups of peers during his adolescence
years - at college, in the neighborhood, at playgrounds, and so on. All
of these groups may have unique traits, norms, cultures and value
systems. His behavior as well as his perception about life depends much
on how these peers affect him. Peer pressure is not always negative and,
at times, may reinforce family value systems. However, the chances of
peer pressure having adverse effects are always much greater and needs
to be guarded against.
Getting Detached From Family
At adolescence, peer relations become the core of a person's life.
Teenagers want to socialize as much as they can and have fun with their
peers, rather than spending time with their families. They seem to
prefer their friends and classmates for close relations. The result is
that there are frequent conflicts and disagreements between teens and
their parents. They tend to maintain distance from their parents and
eventually, lose all the emotional closeness and warmth that was once
there between them.
Help Your Teen Overcome Peer Pressure
- Rather than being a bossy parent, try to become a friend of your
teenage son/daughter. Try not to order him/her around and treat
him/her like an adult, so that he/she doesn't feel alienated from
you and comes to depend too much on his/her peers.
- Let your teenage kids know the adverse effects that too much peer
pressure can have on them. Read them stories from magazines or
newspapers or resort to internet. Let them know that you are not
against them or their friends, just concerned about them.
- As soon as your child steps into adolescence, make sure to tell
him/her all about peer pressure, how there will always be people who
will try to lead him/her towards wrong habits. Make him/her
understand that he/she has the right to say no and need not to do
anything that he/she doesn't like.
- Develop self confidence in your child. Treat him/her with respect
and give him/her responsibilities around the house. This will ensure
that he/she does not suffer from low-esteem, which is usually one of
the main reasons of teenagers succumbing to peer pressure.
