Tips on Helping Teens Cope with Peer Pressure
Tips to help your teen prepare for peer pressure before it happens
- Establish open communication with your teen. Encourage her to be honest with you about her activities with friends and her feelings about those activities.
- Teach her from a young age to recognize and resist negative peer pressure.
- Help her build self-esteem by expressing unconditional love. She'll be less likely to give into peer pressure to gain the acceptance of friends if she is accepted at home.
Tips to keep your teen from letting peer pressure get them in trouble
- Make consequences clear for breaking the rules and enforce them. Don't allow "Everyone's doing it" as an excuse.
- Decide on punishments together ahead of time - "if your not home for dinner, you'll be doing the dishes."
- Role-play peer pressure situations with them. This will make them more comfortable in real life situations like saying 'no' to cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, and sex.
Three ways to help your teen feel comfortable talking to you about peer pressure
- Be honest with them and expect the same in return, but be careful to control your emotions and reactions, so that they will continue to feel comfortable being honest with you.
- Express your concerns in a constructive way, don't attack them or their friends.
- Be there when they need you and be willing to talk when they want to open up.
Want to help your teen find new friends? Try these subtle techniques
- Encourage them to participate in activities where they will meet new people.
- Introduce them to people in your neighborhood.
- Help them find a job or work as a volunteer in area they really enjoy.
Tips to knowing if your teen is hanging out with the wrong crowd
- Look for changes in their behavior. Drastic changes in their activities, likes and dislikes, or a sudden disregard for your rules are good indications that they are with the wrong crowd.
- Talk to teachers, other parents, or some of their other friends.
- Casually ask them open-ended questions about their evening. For example: "Tell me about the movie you saw," rather than, "was the movie good?"
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