Avoiding Negative Peer Pressure

When you say “YES” to others make sure you aren’t saying “NO” to yourself.

Peer pressure is that feeling that you have to do something to be accepted, respected and/or regarded as tough. It can be friends telling you to do something directly or making jest of you for not doing what they are doing. It can also be seeing others at a party smoking, drinking and feeling left out if you don’t.

There’s lots of situations where you might feel pressured to join in, even when you don’t want to. Here’s some situations where you might feel pressured to follow your mates:

  • Taking drugs or drinking alcohol
  • Having sex
  • Sexting
  • Shoplifting or stealing
  • Skipping school
  • Driving without a licence
  • Cheating on tests
  • Copying somebody else’s work
  • Dressing or acting a certain way
  • Not being friends with someone

Peer pressure is something we all have to deal with. It’s okay to feel confused or struggle with peer pressure. Everybody faces it at some point in their lives. By learning how to identify peer pressure you’ll get better at dealing with it.  We’ve got tips and info to help you out in these tricky situations.

Standing up to peer pressure takes practice and courage – it can be scary at first.

There are ways to say no to peer pressure that will help you get out of the situation. The trick is to practise these when you’re alone, or with your parents or someone you trust. Then, when you need to use one of these, you will be more comfortable doing so.

  • Just say “no” and stick to it
  • Repeat yourself if necessary
  • Give a reason why it’s a bad idea
  • Tell them how drinking can mess up their lives
  • Make a joke out of it all
  • Make an excuse why you can’t
  • Suggest a different activity
  • Ignore the suggestion.
  • Leave the situation, others might just follow.

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