Raising a Peer Pressure-Proof Child

Teen Peer Pressure: Raising a Peer Pressure-Proof Child

Learn what kinds of peer pressure teens face, who’s most vulnerable, and how to help your son or daughter resist.

Remember when your teenager took her first steps as a toddler? You hovered behind her — back bent, arms spread — prepared to catch her should she fall. Much as you might like, you can’t shadow your adolescent as you did back then, being there to break her fall when she missteps.

But, say experts, there are steps you can take to support your adolescent in the face of teen peer pressure. Follow them and you’ll rest easier when your teen heads out of the house on a Friday night.

Teen Peer Pressure: What’s Being Pushed?

Here are some findings from recent surveys.

• Smoking. By the time adolescents are just 13, one in five has tried smoking.
• Alcohol use. Two-thirds of teens between the ages of 14 and 17 have tried alcohol. Of teen boys who have tried alcohol, 20% did so by the time they were 12. Episodic, or binge drinking, is also fairly common. Of the adolescents aged 12 to 17, one in four said they’d had five or more drinks consecutively within the past month. Almost a quarter of drinkers aged 16 to 21 admitted to driving after drinking.
• Drug use. Slightly more than 25% of adolescents aged 14 to 17 have used illegal drugs. One-third of young adult marijuana users aged 18 to 21 started using the drug by the time they turned 14.
• Sex. About one in every three kids aged 14 to 15 has had sexual intercourse. Of sexually active teens, almost 30% used no birth control during their last sexual encounter.

Other subjects in this article include;

• Identifying Vulnerable Teens
• Why Teens Fall Prey to Peer Pressure
• Making Your Child Resilient to Teen Peer Pressure

In spite of adolescents’ vulnerability and the strong influence of peers, parents can exert a positive influence on their adolescents’ decision-making processes, offering them ways to combat the effects of peer pressure. Experts explain how. Strategies include;

• Keep communication lines open
• Practice peer pressure scenarios
• Listen to your teen’s perspective
• Keep inviting your kids into your life
• Think beyond punitive responses

This article has some excellent proven strategies and can be found at; Raising Peer Pressure Proof Teens.

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Surviving Peer Pressure for Teens by Sara Jane Sluke, Hilary Cherniss, Sara Jane Sluke Hilary Cherniss

Friends, Cliques, and Peer Pressure: Be True to Yourself (Teen Issues) by Christine Wickert Koubek

See also;

• A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved
• Adolescent Children of Alcoholics
• Adults give booze to kids
• Alcoholic Family Roles
• Is Your Teen Using Drugs or Drinking?

Deadly Perils of the Booze Diet

A woman in her 30s in Gwangju (Korea) recently died while on a so-called booze diet. She was under extreme pressure to lose weight, and after 10 days of only drinking alcohol for dinner while skipping breakfast and lunch, her system packed up.

Those on a liquor diet drink alcohol to lose weight, skipping breakfast and lunch and eating only side dishes with a drink for dinner. Some then throw up to ruin their appetite for the next morning. The method may appeal to those who want to lose weight fast, but it is perilous. "It’s such a dreadful way to lose weight," says Prof. Cho Kyung-hwan of the Department of Family Medicine at Korea University’s Anam Hospital. "It should never be recommended, and no one should listen when it is."

Two out of every 10 Koreans have less than the normal amount of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol, which is why their face reddens or they keel over after just one glass. If such people go on a booze diet, they can die. But even those who have enough enzymes are in danger as the booze diet badly hurts their stomach and esophagus.

Full story at; Deadly Perils of the Booze Diet

• See also;
• A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved
• Alcohol and Pregnancy
• Binge Drinking
• Effects of alcohol on women
• Healthy Chocolate

Korean Spirituality (Dimensions of Asian Spirituality) by Don Baker

Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind by Roger Walsh

Little Eyes, Little Ears

Little eyes, little ears; how violence against a mother shapes children as they grow

Children are changed by growing up with violence and abuse at home

Bad sights, sounds and experiences take many forms. A hit or slap is obvious to see. Abusive words and interactions cause invisible bruises.

Change can be sudden or change can be gradual

Violence at home can take the form of one or more traumatic incidents triggering sudden change. Or changes can occur slowly in reaction to the daily dynamics of abusive relationships, shaping a child incrementally as he or she grows.

Change can be visible or change can be inside

Some changes show in a child’s behaviour, such as crying, aggression, or disrespect to women. Violence in the home also changes how children think and feel – about themselves, their families and life in general.

Children are not passive witnesses to noise, tension and violence at home

Little eyes and little ears don’t miss much, soaking in sights and sounds. Child "witnesses" of violence and abuse are overwhelmed by intense feelings and concentrate hard on their own thoughts. They may feel confused and scared and blame themselves.

As they watch or listen, they guess what caused the "fight," imagine what might happen next, and anticipate potential consequences.

Change can be bad and change can be good

By understanding a child’s view, we can nurture positive changes: correct distorted ideas, encourage helpful coping, build good interpersonal skills, and foster management of intense emotions. And we can support mothers as they help their children heal and thrive.

A child who lives with violence is

forever changed, but not forever

"damaged." There’s a lot we can

do to make tomorrow better.

This resource draws together, in one place, information from the best and latest research for professionals and volunteers who help women and children.

Topics addressed include what children might feel, think and do during violent incidents against their mothers, roles they might adopt before, during or after incidents, strategies of coping and survival, and how violence may be experienced by children of different ages, from infancy to adolescence.

The purpose is to examine how violence against a mother can shape a child. By learning how each child as an individual was shaped by experiences in his or her home – and considering important contextual features of family life – we can devise ways to help.

• ‘little eyes , little ears’ how violence against a mother shapes children as they grow, by Alison Cunningham & Linda Baker the © 2007 Centre for Children and Families in the Justice System. Available at web site: http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/nc-cn

The Right Touch: A Read-Aloud Story to Help Prevent Child Sexual Abuse (Jody Bergsma Collection) by Sandy Kleven

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The Australian National Organisation for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Related Disorders Inc.

(NOFASARD) was established and incorporated in Adelaide in 1998. It is Australia’s peak body representing parents, carers and others interested in or affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). NOFASARD currently receives no operational funding and is staffed totally by volunteers.

The Aims and Objectives of NOFASARD are:

• To promote and resource good practice in the management of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and related disorders resulting from prenatal alcohol exposure.
• Provide information, advocacy, education and support that will assist carers and those working with and affected by Foetal Alcohol Syndrome and related disorders.
• Work towards the prevention of Foetal alcohol syndrome and related disorders.

NOFASARD members lobby State and Federal Agencies, politicians and professional associations about:

• The lack of appropriate education about the effects of alcohol use during pregnancy
• The lack of acknowledgment of this disability by health authorities in Australia
• The lack of appropriate management strategies and support for people with FASD.

Through education and advocacy, NOFASARD members aim to improve the lives of children/adults with FASD. Representatives from the organization present at seminars and workshops for both government and nongovernment agencies throughout Australia

More information at; http://www.nofasard.org.au/

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Lethal Treatment for Alcoholics

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National Health Service authorities that offer alcoholics controlled drinking treatments relying on medication rather than total abstinence could face legal action from a patients’ organisation.

UK Advocates, a pressure group campaigning for the wider availability of rehabilitation courses for addicts, is preparing to file claims against the Department of Health and local health services.

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Full story at; The Guardian, UK

See also;

• 12-Step Treatment More Effective than Alternative
• A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved
• Dysfunctional family
• Talking to Teens about Alcohol