Challenges Facing Children
PEER PRESSURE
Peer pressure is a major source of many issues both in and out of school for both students and parents. While there is such a thing as positive peer pressure, it is the negative peer pressure that cause a number of kids to make decisions that can impact them for years. Being able to equip your child with the knowledge and skills that they need to resist negative influence from their peers is a helpful tool that will allow your child to grow into a confident and independent adult. Why would my child give in to peer pressure? Many children do so in order to be like and accepted, part of the “in-crowd”, curiosity, and because they do not know how to get out of the situation. You might be asking how you can get your child to ignore peer pressure, and we have some tips to help with this. Let your child know that they do not have to do anything they are uncomfortable with, have a teacher designated as someone they feel safe going to, teach your child to say “No” and mean it, and back-up “No” with positive statements.
FINDING A HOBBY AND CREATING SELF-ESTEEM
Helping children explore activities to see what they like and what they don’t care for at all is part of seeing their personalities unfold. You have no idea when your child is born what their innate passions and talents will be. So how can I help my child find their niche? Test the waters with short term commitments, check out options based on your child’s preferences, learn what activities they like and take some time to develop those skills, don’t push your own personal dreams on them, and always encourage their decision. Never force your child to do something they do not want to do, show them opportunities to get involved, and let them meet others that have picked up the hobby.
SUCCESS IN SCHOOL
The United States graduation rate has risen to almost 75% in recent years. This is the highest graduation rate in 40 years. Parents are faced with numerous challenges each day such as balancing work and home life and keeping up with current core lessons. As a parent you may be wondering how you can help your kids achieve their potential in school. Some tips to help you ensure that your child reaches their highest goal and keep them as a part of the increasing graduation rates in the United States are to enforce healthy habits, stick to routines, designate a homework space, read whenever you have time, keep up with what your kids are learning and try to educate yourself on their curriculum, and lead by example. If you talk about school often and show interest in your children’s work this will prove beneficial in their success in school. If you suspect they have a learning disorder you should get them tested. This way you can come up with goals with the school so that they can learn in a fashion that is beneficial to them and help clarify your goals for them. Also, make a point to meet your children’s teachers and attend parent teacher meetings.
GANG INVOLVEMENT
AND HIGH RISKS BEHAVIOR
Gangs are groups of children, adolescents and young adults who share a common identity and are involved in wrongful or delinquent activities. Most gang members tend to be adolescents or young adults, however, recent trends indicate that children are being recruited into gangs at a much earlier age, some when they are in elementary school. Factors that can lead children and adolescents to join a gang or partake in high risk behaviors include: growing up in an area with heavy gang activity, a family history of gang involvement, a history of violence in the home, too little adult supervision, unstructured free time, low self-esteem, a sense of hopelessness about the future, and a lack of positive role models and exposure to media that glorifies gang violence. Parents can help decrease the risk of their child becoming involved in a gang or high risk behavior by: closely monitoring where their child is and what they are doing, involving them in extracurricular activities such as afterschool programs, meeting their children’s friends and their parents, not allowing children to wear, write, or gesture any gang-associated graffiti, markings, signs, or symbols. Some signs to tell if a child is involved in a gang or partaking in high risk behaviors are: having unexplained money, items, or clothing, using hand signs or slang or words with hidden messages, or having gang graffiti on walls or personal items, associating with known gang members, withdrawing from family, not obeying curfews, worsening attitude with adults and peers, using or possessing drugs, or carrying weapons.
