One way to protect your child from negative peer influences is by teaching him or her to have confidence in his or her own judgment and to weigh the outcomes of his or her actions carefully.
Sooner or later, you’ll come to terms with the fact that you’re not your child’s only source of influence. Your child’s social circle, as well as media (including the media your child consumes at home), can have a significant impact on his or her attitudes and actions. There is nothing you can do to protect your adolescent from being exposed to harmful ideas and practices, but you can help by bolstering your child’s sense of self-worth and guiding him or her to be a competent judge of his actions and the implications of those choices.
Impact of peer pressure
Peer pressure is a very real and influential factor during adolescence. One may feel pressured to conform to a certain standard of dress or behavior. The urge to try new things, like smoking and drugs, or to have a romantic partner may be overwhelming. Most teenagers give in to peer pressure because they want to be accepted and respected by their peers. Sometimes people just want to try something different out of pure curiosity.
Here's how to handle it
Boost your teenager’s sense of self-worth and confidence to help them stand up to the influence of their peers. In addition, let your child figure out for himself or herself what is morally acceptable and what is not.
Motivate your teen to recognize and value his or her own set of special qualities. When a child has a solid sense of who he is, he’s more likely to make excellent choices.
Encourage your kid to rely on his or her own knowledge and convictions to make wise choices in life. Assist him or her in understanding the long-term effects of their choices, particularly those that may affect their sexual health.
Instill the importance of standing firm in one’s convictions and making one’s own decisions. Remind your kid that trying to please other people can lead to feeling disappointment about themselves.
Rather than pressuring your child to meet impossible standards, show empathy by discussing your own life experiences and acknowledging the weight of these expectations.
It’s important to help your child connect with other kids who share similar interests and ideals so they can all have a beneficial impact on his or her development.
You can help your teen resist the influence of negative peers by equipping him or her with the self-assurance, social abilities, and coping mechanisms they’ll need to succeed in any circumstance.
Influence of the media
The different forms of mass media have far-reaching and usually detrimental effects on our society. They penetrate your child’s mind and place misguided and explicit ideas about sex and other lifestyles. The covers of magazines almost always showcase toned bodies. Also, the media such as television and movies tend to glorify unrealistic ideals of romance, family obligations, and marriage.
Adolescents going through a difficult stage of development are particularly vulnerable to the media’s negative influence. Because media portrayals of sexual activity and relationships are often idealized, some people may develop a casual attitude toward these topics. But, the truth hurts, and if young people believe everything they read or see in the media, they may feel highly disappointed and disheartened.
Coping with the Impact of the Media
You can’t shield your kids from the media entirely, but you can help them cope with its effects by teaching them how to sort out and filter its conveyed message. Use your judgment to figure out whether it is something good or questionable.
Help your child identify unrealistic portrayals of the body, relationships, male or female roles, and sexual responsibilities while you both watch movies, TV, and the internet together. Explore these ideas and sort out the truth from the fiction, the right from the wrong, the acceptable from the intolerable.
Get your kid to talk about what they think. Disseminate your thoughts and bring attention to the good values. When it comes to sexual matters, the media often distorts reality, so it’s important for families to be conscious of the ways in which they can affect one another.
The influence of the media in your child’s life can be mitigated if you guide them in analyzing and comprehending these messages.