Radio Commentary
Parents can help prepare their children
to fight peer pressure, especially when it comes to drugs and alcohol.
It helps to role-play
about how to say “no.” Act out ways that your child can refuse to go along with
friends without becoming a social outcast.
You can’t envision all
the circumstances that might arise, but you can cover typical examples of when
young people find themselves in awkward situations.
For example, you could
say to your child: “Let’s play a game.
Suppose you and your friends are at Andy’s house after school and they find
some beer in the refrigerator and ask you to join them in drinking it.
“You know that the rule
in our family is that children are not allowed to drink any alcohol, right? So
what could you say to your friends in that situation?”
If your child comes up
with a good response, congratulate him enthusiastically.
If nothing springs to
mind, offer options. He could say: “No thanks. Let’s play Nintendo instead,” or
“No thanks. I don’t drink beer. I need to keep in shape for basketball
practice.”
Or, even better: “That
doesn’t sound like fun to me. Let’s go outside.”
The actual response
doesn’t matter, as long as your child feels comfortable saying it.
Stress the point that
real friends respect each other’s feelings and opinions. And that people who
make their friends do harmful things aren’t really friends at all.
