| |
| |
|
Parenting Information |
|
|
|
Peer Pressure - Five Ways to Help Teenagers Beat Peer Influence
Young people generally want to fit in to their various social groups so peer approval is a significant driver for their behaviour. For a young person resisting peer influence can mean isolation or instant ostracising so it sometimes takes great strength of will to refuse to follow the crowd. It is important for parents to understand the value of peer groups for young people and also remember that peers can be positive influences. While the increased influence of peers is a normal part of a young person's development they can sometimes use some help to resist the pressure to conform that is placed on them. The following ideas may assist you to help young people resist unwanted peer pressure: 1.Talk about peer influence with young people. Be open and frank about the subject. Let them know that while much of the influence of their friends is positive, some is not in their best interests 2. Teach young people how to say no - and still save face and status among their friends. Allow them to blame you for not letting them do something they don't feel comfortable with but can't admit to. 3. Encourage them to think through the consequences of their decisions. The adult brain doesn't kick in until around 24 or 25 years of age and the last connections are fomred are those that help the reasoning process. So young people need help thinking through the outcomes of their choices. When young people are put on the spot they should think about the risk factors involved and err on the side of caution. Encourage them to think "Is this behaviour smart? Is it in my best interests?" 4.Avoid making your young person reliant on the approval of others, including you, as the basis of their self-esteem. Allow them to feel comfortable holding opinions and views that are different to yours. 5. Avoid criticising your teenager's friends, as he or she may take it personally. Discuss your concerns and talk about behaviours rather than personalities when you discuss their choice of friends. Criticise their frinds and you run the risk that they will listen more to their friends than you, particularly if they are at a challenging stage of their development. Michael Grose is The Parent Coach. For seventeen years he has been helping parents deal with the rigours of raising kids and survive!! For information about Michael's Parent Coaching programs or just some fine advice and ideas to help you raise confident kids and resilient teenagers visit http://www.parentingideas.com.au
MORE RESOURCES:
Interaction of Parenting Experiences and Brain Structure in the ... - Archives of General Psychiatry
Parenting - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Managing Sibling Rivalry It is human nature to feel competitive and envious toward others. A moderate spirit of competition is a positive and productive attribute in school and in business. Be Serious With Your Child Future As a parent your biggest responsibility is to prepare your child for the future , physically emotionally and mentally.The first big Intellectual Challenge your child will face is the Entrance Test for KG and later for the First Standard . The Seven Keys of Being a Father Is there a fathering instinct?Celebrated child development expert Erik Erikson maintains that adults have a fierce desire to protect and nurture the next generation. This is the generative nature of parenting- to nurture and protect the next generationWe recognise this desire in women as the maternal instinct. Clean Slates and Fresh Starts Hope, excitement and anxiety all wrapped up in fresh haircuts and new clothes. Pens, pencils and notebooks, the smell of a new box of crayons and a brand new book; it all speaks of such promise. Child Abuse - Survey & Comments Beyond cases reported to authorities, little knowledge exists on the types, amount, and effects of childhood victimization. Through a national survey of adolescents, researchers examined the prevalence of sexual assault, physical assault, physically abusive punishment, and witnessing an act of violence and subsequent effects on mental health, substance use, and delinquent behavior problems. New Baby - Relax and Become a Yummy Mummy Lets face it becoming a mum is a bit of a shock at first, to say the least. Sleepless nights and eventful days make it a struggle to get a shower and wash your hair in the morning, never mind applying make up and fiddling with volume brushes and hairdryers. Advising Teens? Getting Your Point Across Giving advice to a teenager is very easy; getting a teenager to take that advice is another matter altogether. It's not only a case of the advice 'falling on deaf ears', sometimes the teenager seems to go deliberately out of their way to do the exact opposite, that's when you know you've got a problem. How Fathers Can Step Up to Fathering When our oldest son was 2, my wife went out of town for a weekend. When a friend of hers called and I told her she was out of town, she said"So you're home baby-sitting. Why have children? DINCs, This is For You! First there were Yuppies (Young Urban Professionals). Then came the Boomers, the Busters, the Boomlets, and Generation X. Time To Connect With Your Teen While on a recent trip to the grocery store, I happened to hear a mother telling her teenage daughter not to answer her ringing cell phone. Of course, the daughter explained to her mother that "she just had to answer it" As the mother was in the middle of stating how she barely gets two minutes of her daughters time in a day, and her daughter answering the ever so "important" call anyways, all I could think was how much I could relate with this poor woman. Dyslexia: Is the Shoe Perhaps on the Wrong Foot? Reading is the most important skill that a child must acquire at school, because one must learn to read to be able to read to learn. The implication of this is that the child who is a poor reader will usually also be a poor learner. My Teenaged Parents Frankly, as a single parent of young children, I struggled. But, as the single parent of teenagers, I stunk! Faced with the reality of children who could (and did) do whatever they really, really wanted to do, I was often baffled. Picky Eaters - The Dawn of Understanding "In general my children refuse to eat anything that hasn'tdanced on television." (Erma Bombeck, 1927-1996)Once upon a time not so very long ago, you probably envisionedthat your children would be good, healthy eaters while growingup. Raising a Violent-Free Teen in 10 Easy Steps The disquieting behavior of teenagers in the 21st century, is being hailed by experts as a disturbing trend among troubled youth. Such an interpretation may be factual, but mental heath advocates maintain there are guidelines parents can utilize before problems reach the critical stage. ADHD: A Dialogue With a Non-Believer, Part Five Dear Sir, It was with some interest that I read the article What You Should Know About Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward W. after having it handed to me by a member of our church. My Dads Secrets From the book Spider's Night on the BoomI've only begun to understand my dad since I became a father myself, and it's amazing to me how I'm constantly being reminded of lessons he taught me 40 years ago-lessons that I never even knew I was learning.As a kid, my life was like a black-and-white kid's adventure movie, composed of disjointed, but sometimes very exciting scenes. How Illiteracy Can Ruin Your Childs Life It may seem obvious to many people why literacy is so important in our technologically advanced society. However, many parents may not fully realize the emotional pain and life-long damage illiteracy can cause their children. The Child Chef If you really want to get your children to eat better, and have a better understanding of healthy foods, let them help in the picking and cooking of those foods. When you go shopping, let your children pick out a fruit or vegetable to cook that week. MORAL ARMORS Irrational Parenting, Part III Not Letting Them Think.We all implicitly know that anything questioning the process of cognition itself will be met with massive irritation, making us want to respond with "Don't question my capacity to think. Americas Public schools --- Deteriorating Like They Did In Ancient Rome The citizens of the early Roman Republic enjoyed an education system similar to ancient Athens. It was voluntary and parents paid tutors or schools directly.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
