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Peer pressure can get the best of all of us, no matter what age we are. However, for a teenager in public school in this day and age, it seems like the pressure is up one hundred percent.
Here are five simple ways that you can help and encourage your teenager who might be dealing with peer pressure.
- Be honest with your teenager. It is important that you are honest with your teenager about your past. What were some pressures for you? This doesn't mean you have to tell them every dirty secret from your past, but be honest with them. Let them know that you were pressured as a teen, that you remember how hard it is, and that there were even times you failed. You want your teenager to feel like they can come to you if there are issues, and the best way to do that is to have open lines of communication, and to be real with them.
- Pray with your teenager. How often do you pray with your teenager? It might have come more naturally when your children were younger, but sometimes we feel like it is more awkward to have these intimate moments with our kids. Make sure you pray with them, and over them–and often.
- Have one-on-one time with your teenager. I learned quickly that my teenage daughter wasn't going to share about her struggles or pressures in front of her younger siblings. However, we are hardly in the car alone together for 2 minutes before she is spilling the beans about what is really going on in life. Make sure you get one-on-one time. Even if it is just running to Walmart for milk, take them with you. It is also important for girls specifically to get time with mom, and boys with dad. They might feel more comfortable talking about their pressures with a same-gender parent.
- Don't give your teenager too much privacy. Teenagers feel like they are “owed” privacy–but they are not! They are still your children, and you still need access to their friends, their teachers, their online accounts (email, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram–the whole 9 yards!) and their phones. We have a cell phone contract with our teenager that requires it be brought down every night at 8:30 to be checked. I read every text message. I am not just her friend on social media, I have every password. I check them. It is okay to be nosey. They are your children, and you have a right to know what is going on in their worlds!
- Make sure your teenager is getting into God's Word. God's Word must be a priority. Your teenager should still be engaging in family devotions, as well as spending time in God's Word on their own and at church. Encourage them to memorize verses about the things that are temptations to them, Memorize with them!
Peer pressure exists everywhere, even for the homeschool or private school teenager. We must be pro-active in getting engaged in our children's lives in order to help them combat the pressures they might face.
Worshiping With My Life,
Mandy
