Peer pressure is a real thing. It can be very strong, so preparing your teen for peer pressure is very important. An experiment was done at a high school to measure peer pressure among the students in a class. The results showed that 79% of the teens in the group gave in to peer pressure during this experiment.
I remember facing it when I was in my teen years and attending a Christian school. Our kids will all face peer pressure at some point during their teen years, whether we send them to a Christian school, public school, or home school.
The question is not whether or not they will face it, but rather what are we doing to prepare them to deal with it?
Most teens today have bought into what culture is telling them. They have been led to believe that the teen years are the time to have fun, take it easy, and have no responsibilities. Unfortunately, many Christian parents believe this, as well. However, do you know the word teenager is not in the Bible? The term young/men are used 140 times in the Bible.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. I Cor. 13:11
This doesn’t say: When I became a teenager (or adolescent.) God looks at teens as an adult in training. They don’t just magically become an adult when they turn 18.
RELATED: 4 TIPS FOR EFFECTIVELY PARENTING TEENS
Adulthood is a process that begins when they turn 12 years old. Teens will never again have the opportunity to learn and prepare that they have during their teen years.
They have time to:
As parents, it’s also important for you to generally know what their friends are doing. Do you have open communication with their parents? Do the friends tend to hang out with other good influences? Are they surrounding themselves with ungodly entertainment or seeking out tempting or dangerous situations?
We must help to open their eyes to the world around them, but we also have to trust that God will continue to work in them and protect them. Ultimately we must remember that our children’s lives are in God’s hands. He is with them and He will give them good judgment when they ask and need it most.
Remind them that everyone has someone who looks up to them. For example: “If you do right, they’ll do right! If you do wrong, they will be right behind you. Everyone has influence. Everyone can be an encouragement. Everyone can help someone else make it.”
The world says, “Life is short; live it up!“ Let’s prepare our children for the teen years, and train them so their philosophy will be “Life is too short; live for God!”
As parents, every one of us will choose some pattern to follow in the rearing of our children. Many parents look to the world’s definition of success and use it as the pattern for their children’s upbringing. I contend that there is a better pattern, and that pattern is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our job as parents is to do everything possible to see to it that our children’s hearts and minds are molded to the image of Christ. This is the ultimate goal and the ultimate challenge. To choose any other pattern, even that of ourselves, is to rob our children of some of what they could one day become. –The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ
The above quote was taken from chapter 10 of The Teenage Years of Jesus Christ. Though the book is written to and for young people around age 12 or older, this chapter is written to encourage parents to teach their young people the priorities of Christ’s teenage years, as outlined in the book, and how to help our children develop these priorities in their lives. I highly recommend that all parents read this before their kids enter the teen years, and also have their teens read it. It is full of practical teaching to help our teens grow in wisdom, and lead rather than follow.
5 Responses
Thanks for sharing such a good book with review over at WholeHearted Home this past week.
I have known parents who sort of bought into the whole teenage rebellion thing. They just accepted that it was o.k. for their kids to be disrespectful to them, and some even encouraged it as they thought it was a “healthy” thing. But then later I would listen to them share their pain and hurt as their kids continued to say mean and hurtful things to them because they allowed and encouraged it.
I don’t think disrespect should ever be encouraged, and while we want our teens to talk to us, they can certainly do it without talking disrespectfully. That’s part of learning how to communicate! Thanks for linking up to “Making Your Home Sing Monday!”
Quite a thought provoking post as my oldest will soon be turning 12. So many great points; stand up to peer pressure, be leaders. Thank you for an informative post. Stopping by from Gratituesday.
This is a great post – you filled it with great points, and it is essential to remember that maturing (for any age…) is a process and there has to be some grace involved. I’d love for you to share this with my Cozy Reading Spot hop – it’s a place to share great posts and articles and then take a moment to read other’s…
If you are at all interested, I’d love to “see” you there!
http://forfunreadinglist.blogspot.com/p/cozy-book-hop-thursdays.html here’s the link
Thanks for sharing this!
Marissa
Kathie, thanks for the inspiration in your post today on raising teens. I haven’t seen that book before but will definitely check it out after I finish Sticky Faith. Saw your linkup on Fellowship Fridays. Have a great day!