Every one of us has been in a situation where we felt uncomfortable, whether we were pressured into it or did it because “everyone else was doing it”. As children grow older, they are faced with some challenging decisions. Some don't have a clear right or wrong answer, like should they join the student government or play football? Other decisions involve serious moral problems, like whether to stay out pass the curfew, skip class, smoke, drink, or lie to parents. Making decisions on your own is hard enough, but when other people get involved and try to force their ideas on you it can be even harder. At one point or another, everyone has to deal with peer pressure, even adults. Peer pressure occurs when a person looks up to a leader (dominant) peer. They use him/her as somebody who has all the answers.
A peer is defined as a friend or acquaintance who is about the same age as you. Interaction between peers happens at school, church, during basketball practice. Peers influence each other’s lives,
The adult perception of peers as having one culture or a unified front of dangerous influence is inaccurate. More often than not, peers reinforce family values, but they have the potential to encourage problem behaviors as well. Although the negative peer influence is overemphasized, more can be done to help teenagers experience the family and the peer group as mutually constructive environments. Parents often believe that their children do not value their opinions, but it is parents who have tremendous influence over their children, especially teenagers. No matter the age children, parents and caregivers should never feel helpless about countering the negative effects of peer pressure. Often being able to talk things through with a family member can enable a teenager to see how he or she is being pressured unfairly or unnecessarily to do something they do not want to do. Parents need to enforce communication in order for the young person to be able to use this support. Good friends too are critical he
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