Handling Peer pressures

Life comes with challenges.

PEER PRESSURE: You have a right to say ‘‘no’’
    ‘‘You shall not follow a crowd to do evil’’ EX.23:2 (NKJV)    
       For the purpose of conciseness, we shall define peer pressure as’’ the demands our friends or age mates put on us to make choices that we are not necessarily pleased with’’. These demands could be positive or negative, though they are mostly negative.
      Admittedly, if we don’t make the choices stipulated, we feel left out, so sometimes we make those choices just to belong, remain trendy or popular. It is this desire to be like others when not properly controlled and channeled in most cases, that shatters destinies.
       However, it is pertinent for us to understand that when under pressure to do anything that’s not really right or good for you, you have a right to say no without feeling guilty. That you said no to an offer or option you don’t like isn’t symptomatic of cowardice, it’s simply a sign that you know what you want or deserve.
‘‘For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘‘No’’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self�"controlled, upright and godly lives in the present age’’. Tit.2:11-12 (NIV)

    It therefore, follows, that there is need to learn necessary skills with which to combat these demands or pressures. Some skills to learn include:
Peer resistance skills:- Don’t accept every offer made  to you. Have a choice.
Refusal skills:- Learn to say ‘no’ and mean it.
Negotiation skills:- Bargain without compromising your life-goals.
Assertiveness:- State your feelings and follow through to it.
Critical thinking skills:- Analyze issues closely, taking cognizance of their pros and cons.
    In our contemporary society, peer influence or demands are variegated. The following are forms of peer pressures among young people:
Smoking
Drinking
Premarital sex
Truancy
Cheating(Examination malpractice)

‘’The young always have the same problem-
how to rebel and conform at the same time.
They have now resolved this problem by
defying their parents and copying one another.’’
 Quentin Crisp
    The desire or pressure to be like others if not properly calculated could be demeaning and destructive. We all have inside of us, nuggets of special talents and abilities that God endowed us with. These special endowments are essential to the actualization of our life-goals, but they form the targets of a great deal of peer pressures. Although, resisting peer pressure may not be easy sometimes, it should still be resisted by learning the right moral values. Don’t waste your destiny, guard it and see you at the top.


        

REFERENCES
Refusal skills and Resisting Peer pressure retrieved on January 19, 2013 from     http://www.thecoolspot.gov/rightto resist.asp
 
Scripture Union (Nigeria), Life Skill Manual