By Amjad Ali Kha 
Whether a teen attends a regular school or a virtual high school, peer pressure is something that they will have to learn to tackle if they have friends. Sometimes, peers can be good for a teen as they help him or her succeed and be better. However, peers often pressure a teen to do something they don’t want to do and become a negative influence. As parents, you need to talk to your teen about peer pressure and give them advice on how to handle peer pressure. Here are some ideas that might help.
- Learn to Say No
It is also a smart idea to learn to say NO. When you think that your friends ask you to do something or say something you are not comfortable with, you should learn to say No. A genuine friend would never push you to do something you are uncomfortable with. Even if they do momentarily, they will not mind if you say No.
- Use Your Brain
A teenager who wants to avoid negative peer pressure would always use their brain. You should not use your heart and be reckless. Never do anything impulsively. Instead, stop and think with your brain and decide if the consequences of what you are doing are something you can live with. Give yourself 1 minute to think with your brain before you respond to negative peer pressure.
- Quality Over Quantity
When choosing your friends, make sure you value quality over quantity. Even having two quality friends who provide support and positive peer pressure is better than having 20 friends who want you to be reckless and rebellious and add negative peer pressure. It is smart not to impress everyone around you or be friends with people who are a negative influence. Just maintain your distance.
- Be More Self Confident
Every teenager who wants to resist negative peer pressure should be more self-confident. They should know that even if they lose friends over a silly thing, they can make new ones. You should never be swayed by what others want you to do because you are unsure whether others will accept you if these (negative) friends leave you.
- Avoid Anger
When you are stuck in a terrible situation where your peers want you to do something negative, you might have an urge to yell at them or get angry. It would help if you never did that. Instead, you need to remain cool and tell them clearly and firmly that you won’t do what they want. If possible, give a reason for your decision and walk away if they fail to understand.
- Move On
If your peers feel guilty about pushing you to do something negative and apologize, you should also learn to move on. Make it clear that you will not tolerate such behavior again and mend the friendship. Even if you choose to end your friendship with those people, do it with a cool head. Don’t overthink the incident, and focus on everything that matters, like your studies and college admissions.
- Talk to an Adult
Yes, we know that most teens don’t share stuff with their parents or an adult as they prefer to fix things by themselves. But if you think your peers pressured you to do something illegal or grossly immoral, you can talk to a responsible adult and highlight their behaviour. An adult might help by talking to the people and stopping their activities.
If you want, you can also talk to your teacher at the online school Canada and tell them what happened and how you pulled yourself out of that situation. They would be able to guide you on what to do next and show you the right direction to take. They might even help you report the situation to the authorities if something illegal is going on. The teachers of institution ICE can be trusted to do what’s best for the students. They always want the students to have a decent life, do great academically and resist negative social pressure. To know more about ICE, contact them today. It’s a great virtual high school suited for every kid and teen’s requirement.
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