Other Children’s Behavior in School”Will it Affect My Child?
As our children head back to school, the same old worries arise. Are they being adequately prepared for their futures? Are they learning valuable lessons? Are they behaving well? Behavior can be one of the top worries that parents have while their students are away from their supervision and in a new environment. With bullying and peer pressure playing an important role in our societies’ conversations today, it’s reasonable that parents would have this worry. We know how our students behave at home, but how they behave with peers in class can be questionable. So, will other children’s behavior in school affect our child? The answer isn’t typically a clear yes or no. What this boils down to is peer pressure. If a friend or peer is behaving poorly, will your youngster feel pressured to act the same? The key is to prepare your child for situations where peer pressure might occur and trust that they will make the right choices when the time comes. Follow these steps to help your child make the right choices about peer pressure in school.
Open and Honest Discussion
Sit down and have a conversation with your child about things openly. No matter how old your student is, having a careful and honest conversation about peer pressure, behavior, and your concerns is always a great step. Just sit down and be honest. Tell them your concerns. Talk about the idea of peer pressure. Explain to them that there are going to be times they’ll feel compelled to do something or act a certain way because their friends and classmates are doing so. By opening up the conversation, you can help your child understand what types of behavior are appropriate in school and when to questions their peers’ behavior. Sharing your concerns with your young students can be a great way to ease your worries and open up a line of communication between the two of you.
Help Build Self-Esteem
Self-confidence and self-esteem can be the number one fighters against peer pressure in a youngster. IF your child has a good sense of self-confidence, they can get through a lot of the things that life will throw at them. It becomes easier for kids to walk away, say no to bad behavior, and stand up for their own behavior, if they believe in themselves. Instilling strong notions of confidence and self-esteem in your child is essential. Talk with them about positive and negative behaviors. Talk about learning how to judge behaviors carefully and how to recognize when something is wrong. These are all aspects of having confidence in yourself and your own choices.
Encourage Positive Peer Influences
One of the best ways to avoid other students’ misbehavior from affecting your child is to facilitate the best positive peer relationships you can. Get to know your child’s friends. This will help you understand the influences that your child has around him or her. Encourage hobbies like sports and afterschool programs where you child can interact with other kids with the same interests. If your child has a solid support system in strong and reliable friends, they will be less likely to be influenced by misbehaving students in class.
Lauren Bailey is a freelance blogger for www.bestcollegesonline.com. She loves writing about education, new technology, lifestyle and health. As an education writer, she works to provide helpful information on the best online colleges and courses and welcomes comments and questions via email at blauren 99 @gmail.com.