Teens yield to peer pressure from parents

Written by Nicole Doan

Teens are often subject to peer pressure from parents and guardians, not just friends. It is only natural that our parents greatly influence us because we spend much of our time with them. Sometimes that influence can cross the line to infringe upon our personal freedom to make decisions.

Although teens can’t pick their parents, they can make their own choices about other things, such as activities and their future. We should have the freedom to exercise these rights, which may seem infringed with excessive parental influence. Have we all not experienced a time in which our parents insist that we do a certain activity, even though we may not enjoy it? Or our parents may push us to take rigorous high school courses to prepare ourselves for paths in professions that we may not want to pursue. Either way, it is not – no matter what parents think – up to them to make personal decisions young adults.

If teens do not make the habit of making their own choices, dependency on people and unhappiness will ensue. Dependency on others to make choices can cause people to stop thinking for themselves altogether, rather than a mere issue of lack of freedom. Those unfortunate enough to be so dependent deem it necessary to ask for people’s opinions about simple matters such as taking a certain school course. Individual know themselves the most, so they should not rely on others to their make choices. In addition, teens who feel inclined to strictly adhere to their parents’ word will find themselves discontent in life. They are locked up in cages, where they fear to take up opportunities simply because those chances are not part of their parents’ almighty plans.

Furthermore, pressure from parents cause kids to place additional pressure on themselves. As a result, stress builds up; teens already stress enough about physical, emotional, academic and social problems.

Adolescents are known for crumbling under stress and peer pressure, but we can control the negative factors in our lives by taking a stand and making our own smart choices.

1. Alice Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 6:57 pm

   Nice article. I agree, parents can get so controlling. Key thing is addressing their fears about it. Hey, we can’t make everybody happy, don’t let your parent’s happiness get in the way of yours. They do it out of love, but kids need to make their own mistakes/choices or else they’ll turn in mindless zombies, anchored solely to what other people think.

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