Parent’s Role

Your child is one of the keenest observers you will ever have. They observe everything you do and learns from what they hear and see. If your child sees you constantly trying to keep up with other parents, they’re going to end up doing the same with their peers. If they see you drinking and smoking, they won’t put in much of an effort in resisting these behaviors.

As their parent, you need to be a good role model to your child—especially in refusal skills. To do this, help your child develop responses to peers. Basically, help them figure out what to say to peers who are pressuring them to take part in high-risk behaviors and activities. Suggest responses to them, but make sure that they’re short and simple so they can say them comfortably and confidently.

Take the time to role-play with your child—or just get them to practice in front of a mirror. Also, teach a few phrases that would work for different situations. These include phrases like, “I’m not comfortable with that,” or “I need to think about that.” These phrases will help them set boundaries without triggering a stern reaction.

Lastly, teach your child to trust their own instincts when making decisions. This is going to make it less likely they’ll let others make decisions for him. Encourage them to think through the possible consequences of the decision they are about to make, and make sure they know that giving in to pressure now may make life harder for them in the long run.

To learn more about modelinding behavior add the peer pressure issue to your MASK Library

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