7 Telling Signs of Parental Peer Pressure, Impacts & How to Cope

The end goal is to reinforce constructive behaviours while avoiding peer pressure. Knowing the facts about drugs, cigarettes and alcohol will help children make informed decisions when faced with the temptation to try them. Don’t wait for your kids to discover the risks on their own, present them with facts and discuss the hazards of these substances. Older teens and young adults may be peer pressured to engage in harmful activities like drinking alcohol, smoking, or reckless driving.

• For example, students may pressure their peers to engage in risky behaviors, such as drug and alcohol use, skipping school, or cheating on tests.
• In contrast, negative peer pressure coerces others towards risky, inappropriate, unethical, dangerous or illegal choices.
• They act as a guardian who can treat them well and can help in how to tackle peer pressure.

Set Boundaries

• If someone persistently pressures you to do something, you can try telling them how it affects you.
• This simple phrase may work better with younger kids who won’t face quite as much peer pressure.
• Zalamar says this one may work best when invited to places where kids know they aren’t allowed to go or don’t have permission.
• We have limited and gradual success in overcoming shame and guilt as we find a deeper version of ourselves.
• This type of pressure can be particularly difficult for students who are trying to fit in or establish their social identity.
• According to a 2021 study of non-Hispanic Black children in the United States, kids whose food or weight was monitored by parents may have a higher body mass index (BMI).

If you suspect that your child is being negatively affected by peer pressure, let them know you are someone they can trust and offer to make a plan for getting out of a bad situation. People commonly think of peer pressure in a negative light, but in reality, it’s not always a bad thing. Sometimes peer pressure is used to positively influence people, such as when teens work toward common goals such as doing well in school or helping out in their community. Learning about acceptable group norms can be a positive part of learning how to live with and socialize with others. We talk a lot about children and peer pressure, but what about peer pressure from other parents? Parents are constantly barraged with advice on what good parenting looks like, from unsolicited advice during pregnancy and while raising their children.

• Everyone should have specific peer pressure strategies in their back pocket that will help them respond to subtle nudging from peers towards risky activities.
• For adolescents, the need to “fit in” may be a powerful motivator that can lead them to inappropriate behavior.
• Dealing with this pressure can be challenging, but it’s important to reflect on your own personal values and preferences and make decisions based on those rather than on peer pressure.
• The impacts of parental peer pressure extend beyond mere discomfort, affecting the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of both parents and their children.

Share this article on

By Michelle PugleMichelle Pugle, MA is a freelance writer and reporter focusing on mental health and chronic conditions. As seen in Verywell, Healthline, Psych Central, Everyday Health, and Health.com, among others. Instead of quickly agreeing to do something you’d rather not do, pause and take a few deep breaths. If someone is waiting for you to answer them, tell them you need to take a few days and think about it.

Online School Reviews: What People Are Saying About Online School

Consistently negative parenting — particularly when parents guilt-tripped children — led to poor performance in school, one 2022 study suggested. Peer pressure is any type of influence, positive or negative, that comes from a peer group. This peer group may be of similar age (e.g., children in the same classroom) but it can also be defined by other commonalities, including motherhood, professional how to deal with peer pressure affiliations, and your local neighborhood. This way of talking and being with children models for them what it means to be a healthy Self. This is the same kind of thinking and being they will need to withstand the gravitational pull of peer pressure. They will need to stand in the face of judgment and risk rejection with their peers, shifting from being right or good to be a Self.

• For some families, eating dinner together is a part of their everyday routine and each person is expected to be there.
• Having an ally who can intervene when you’re clearly uncomfortable builds motivation to leave tempting situations properly.
• Peer pressure to use substances like alcohol and cannabis can unfold into problems with substance abuse.
• Friendship at its best – listening without criticism and encouraging self-forgiveness – epitomises unconditional support.
• It may also influence the person to participate in unsafe, risky, or dangerous sexual activities.

This means that pressure to commit small wrongs can lead to more serious bad behavior. For example, if your child is easily pressured to take things that don’t belong to them, they might one day agree to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Unfortunately, chemical dependency becomes addictive after repeated use. Peer pressure can lead a person to engage in sexual activity before they are ready.

Learn strategies that can help you handle negative peer pressure.