7 Parenting Tips To Help Your Kids Manage Peer Pressure And Other Negative Influences
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Peer pressure is everywhere and all the more for kids. What you teach them at home, sometimes loses its value in front of peer pressure. This is not only applicable to teenagers or adolescents but also younger kids. So as parents what do you do? Does shouting and scolding help or are there smarter ways to handle this, without losing your cool? Let’s find out!
Communicate More
Has your kid always wanted to reach out to you because they had something to share, but you were too busy to listen? It could be your work or attending something important at that time, but the moment you ignore your kid, you’ve lost the game. They will stop sharing things with you, including things you need to know. However, if you keep the channels of communication open, you come to know so many things like their friends, opinions, and what they are doing, which will help you keep track of what your kid is doing. It allows you to understand things and ask questions. But be careful about how you communicate because your opinion should not come out as criticism or blame. It should be that of genuine concern.
Know Their Friends
Do you know who your kid’s friends are? If you have no idea, then it’s time that you venture out and get some details. This is because the kind of kids your kid will hang out with will decide the influence they are going to have on them. Good friends have good influence and vice versa. So to get to know them better, invite them home, let them play. talk in your presence, and you too try and communicate with them. Also, instead of making it sound like a court inquiry session, make things comfortable for them by giving them space and not asking uncomfortable questions. In short, to be a vigilant parent, you need to be friends not only with your kids, but also with their friends.
Help Your Child Be Happy And Confident
A happy and confident child is less likely to be influenced by others, especially peer groups. For example,if your child knows that bunking classes is wrong, it is more likely that they will say no to this suggestion and also back it up with a sound reason. On the other hand a child who lacks confidence can be easily manipulated into doing things that are not correct since they lack opinion-forming and reasoning skills.
Encourage Extracurricular Activities
A busy child will have much less time to think and succumb to peer pressure than a child who does not know what to do with his time. Also, when a child takes part in various activities, apart from the time factor, he or she also meets new people with different opinions and thought processes. Your child’s friend at school might be encouraging him to throw a lavish bday party while the one he meets at badminton practice might suggest that inviting friends over at home and spending time playing fun games/ activities for birthday is a better idea.
Teach Them That Every Action Comes With Some Consequences
A very good habit that you can inculcate in your kids early on is the belief that every action has consequences. Like if you study hard, you get better grades, if you are mean to your friend, you might lose them forever. This encourages them to reflect upon the consequences before doing something. For example, if I steal something from a shop, I might get caught and jailed, if I misbehave at school, I might get thrown out. So action-reaction teaching prevents them from making impulsive decisions.
Teach Them Not To Be Scared Of Saying No
Your child needs to learn the importance of saying “No” early on. Saying yes just because everyone else is saying it sometimes results in doing things they otherwise would not want to do. Your child might not be okay with bunking a class, but when other kids of the group are saying yes to the suggestion, they might be worried about the consequences if they stand out and say no. However it is to be explained that saying no when they feel so, is perfectly okay because it enables them to show others that they have an opinion of their own, which results in respect. However, to help them get over the initial dilemma, start doing the same at home. It’s easier for them to follow in your footsteps than just receive advice from you.
Track Online Activities
Children nowadays have a lot of exposure to social media. A lot of peer pressure is created online. To do away with this, try keeping track of what your kid is doing online. Are they on Facebook, Instagram? If yes, who are their friends, what kind of pages do they follow, what is the general conversation tone, and so on. You can also limit their online exposure by encouraging more offline activities and family time together. This way their dependency on the digital world reduces.
Thus, by following some proactive steps, parents can help their kids from succumbing to unhealthy peer pressure and influence. If you find the above article useful and have similar suggestions, let us know in the comment section below!
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