The Power of Positive Peer Pressure!! Really?

Peer Pressure: That Dreaded Phrase—Can it ever be positive?

Peer pressure is a dreaded phrase when we think of how easily we and our children get influenced by those behaviors and patterns that we seek the most to avoid. We cringe when we think of habits picked up by just observing and associating with certain people. As a parent, we realize the teen and tween years are known for the dangers of negative peer pressure.

But What About Positive Peer Pressure?

Is there even such a thing? Thankfully, the answer is a resounding, YES! Just as peer pressure can work to our disadvantage, it can also be a means of nudging our children in a positive direction.

Let’s Consider a Few Examples

• Riding a Bike

When our oldest son, Austin, was little, we got him a bike for his 6th birthday! It was a brand new, red bicycle, complete with training wheels and a shiny red helmet. He was thrilled! That bike was just what he dreamed of!  Soon, he was zooming down our hill at lightening speed — well, as fast as his training wheels would allow him to speed!

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Austin zoomed and clattered on those training wheels for many months, and I think that he forgot that the training wheels were meant for training, not for long-term riding! I would ask him from time to time about when he wanted to try riding without the training wheels, but he did not seem interested at all.

Then one day, two certain friends came to visit. They brought their bicycles too! Oh, what fun it was for all of the kids to whiz by at top speed! But, at some point early on into that first day of riding, Austin noticed that Sedona, who was younger than he was, and a girl, could ride a whole lot faster than he could! He watched her for a minute, at which time Sedona’s very observant and wise mother made a suggestion. She said something like, “I’ll bet that you could ride as fast as Sedona. You see that she isn’t using training wheels. They slow you down!”

Well…that’s all it took! 

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This article first appeared on Blog – SDA Homeschool Families
— Read on www.sdahomeschools.org/blog/

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