PEER
Parents can help their children cope with peer pressure and bullying
REVIEW
In every classroom , on every playground and at every bus stop , millions of American kids are feeling pressure to fit in with the other kids . They also experience and witness the harmful effects of “ bullying ” more acutely than ever before . Scott & White is dedicated to helping children , adolescents and their families deal with the tough issues of growing up .
dolescence is a time when
A children learn to function in their own world , apart from their parents . At the same time that they ’ re earning more freedom , they ’ re becoming more vulnerable to peer pressure . “ Peer pressure influences some children and adolescents more than others and is present as early as elementary school ,” says Helen Zaphiris , MD , child and adolescent psychiatrist at Scott & White Healthcare . Bullying can emerge as an issue for any child or adolescent with challenges in the academic , physical or emotional realms . The goal of pediatric experts at Scott & White is to help parents and children learn coping strategies as early as possible .
A need to belong “ As a preteen or adolescent begins to establish his or her own identity , he will look to his peers and emulate behaviors and images in order to fit in ,” says Dr . Zaphiris . “ The degree to which a child or adolescent is influenced by peers depends on the quality of parental / caregiver involvement , how secure the child feels in those relationships and their own genetic vulnerabilities . All children and adolescents succumb to peer pressure to some degree , but the level to which they succumb to negative influences depends on how healthy and secure they feel within themselves emotionally .”
Adriana Strunk , licensed clinical social worker in the pediatric outpatient clinic at Scott & White , agrees . “ Kids want to belong , so if they don ’ t go along with something their friends want to do , they
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