When a teenager’s friends or the society affects their thought process of then the situation generated is known as peer pressure. A child’s behavior gets affected by numerous factors. The influence of friends can be in both verbal and non-verbal format. This pressure can negatively affect the mentality of the teenager. In the stride to outperform their friends under sheer peer pressure, a teen may suffer many mental health issues.
Hence, parents need to recognize such situations in their child’s life and shield them from the negative impacts of this pressure. Nobody is immune to the influence and the stress received from the community. While adults can manage this pressure efficiently, children may face problems for the same in the process.
How Can Teen Peer Pressure Affect Your Child?
Just notice the sudden peculiar changes in the behavior of your teenager can be attributed to the peer pressure. Your teen suddenly urges you to allow him to join the gym or wants to spend some time with their special friend. Or your daughter who use to dress conservatively and was a tomboy, is now demanding to get her hair dyed. A couch potato suddenly wants to travel around and is asking for a bike. All these sudden changes can come as shocking to the parents. So why are they acting so differently? The answer here is pressure and influence. The society has set certain norms for an individual to be deemed acceptable. Maybe your teen wants to adjust in that category. This is known as the teen peer pressure.
Why Is It So Impactful?
As human beings, we all go through transformations throughout our lifetime. These include various biological changes. When the children are young, they only trust their parents as they are with them for the majority of the time. As the exposure increases, the peers start to affect their thought process, and they begin to form their own opinions about things. Sometimes these opinions and ideologies may clash with their parents. This can lead to fights, disagreements, misunderstandings, etc. between a teen and their parents.
The importance of friends also increases in a teenager’s life, and they try to fit in a particular friend circle. This is why your child’s friends are so influential. Therefore, the change in behavior is not your fault. It is their destination and something that is unavoidable.
Why Is This Phase So Nerve- Wracking?
Your daughter or son may feel the pressure to act a certain way. They seek validation at this particular age. Teenage is already quite hard for many students because of the study and work pressure, hormonal changes, etc. When all this additionally affected by peer pressure, the situation can become a little challenging. They get introduced to new things like smoking, drugs, etc. If a teen can differentiate between the things that are right and wrong for them, they will be safe. For this guidance from the parents is needed.
Just the excitement to try out new things may draw a kid towards them. But with constant support from the parents and society, all this can be handled. Although the teenager may react in a rebellious manner, parents have to understand and stand by their side.
How To Handle Negative Peer Pressure?
A strategy that you might not have considered trying in the struggle against negative peer pressure is adopting a “normative” method. Numerous discussions of peer pressure involve educating your teenager about refusal skills. This includes refusing drugs, alcohol, or other harmful things. Discuss openly and bluntly about the negative results of such practices and introduce them to the reality of things.
Your daughter might feel ashamed of not losing her virginity in high school, but it is your responsibility to teach her that this practice is absolutely standard. Until and unless one does not normalize things, the teenagers will continue feeling the pressure.
Parents are the most significant influence in a child’s life. Although during the teenage years, parents might feel that their teen detests them, they will ultimately comply with their parent’s request. This phase is a little complicated, but it will pass. Keep a constant check on your ward and teach them about the positive aspects of life.
