Beckie Whitehouse is not only a parenting coach, but she also has three kids of her own and so she knows a thing or two about peer pressure.
From the pre-schooler that says:
But xxx is allowed to have pudding without eating his carrots. Not fair.”
To the tween that happily announces that:
Her best friend is allowed to watch 18 films ALL THE TIME.”
I was even greeted with peer pressure when my little boy was in Early Years because apparently:
All my friends can stay up until after eleven mummy, why can’t I?”
Peer pressure is a minefield from parents which is why we are having a little chat about it on our hangouts series on the blog to try and give you a little bit of help navigating it all. We cover issues like:
- Managing your kids expectations of what they can and can’t do
- Being consistent
- Bracing yourself for the fallout
- Their rules in their house EXCEPT when they can’t be, e.g. film ratings which can be a real stickler for some parents as this part of peer pressure can be a) very strong b) difficult to manage for the parents too.
As the kids get older, the situations that we need to manage due to peer pressure can become more complex. From the simple issues around what kids can and can’t eat when, such as sweets before bed, to the more complicated issues of having mobile phones, Nintendo DSs or getting your ears pieced. It isn’t an easy part of parenting.
We hope that this hangout helps with some of the issues, and if not, then drop us a line here at KiddyCharts and we can see if we can help in some other way. Enjoy.
Do checkout some of other hangouts on the blog too, we offer great advice; anything from weaning to potty training. Some you might like include:
How have you experienced peer pressure with your kids? How did you deal with it, we would love to hear from you.