Peer Pressure

People might say ‘everyone else is doing it, so why aren't you?’
Nobody should be made to do anything they don’t want to as they will probably regret* it.

Are you feeling peer pressure*?
· It’s hard if you’re the only one saying ‘no’, but be brave and follow your instincts.
· If your friends want you to do something, ask yourself how you really feel about it, and stick to what you believe in.
· If you say ‘no’ to something, real friends should respect your decision*. If they don’t, maybe you need to find new friends.
· It’s better to have a few friends than lots of friends who try and make you do things you don’t want to do.
Is a friend of yours feeling peer pressure?
· If your friend doesn’t want to do something either, back them up.
· This can really help them, and it’ll make peer pressure easier to resist.
· Help them to make their own choices – they will gain confidence.
· Don’t put pressure on your friends.

“I’ve started smoking - everyone else is doing it and I just want to fit in.”
Peer pressure is when you think you should do something because other people your age say you should, or because everyone else is doing it too. If you are doing things because your mates are, or changing what you normally do to fit in, then you are being affected by peer pressure. Some of the things you might feel pressure to do are:
• Wear the same clothes as your mates
• Drink alcohol, smoke or take drugs
• Commit a crime
• Change your friends because your other mates don't like them
• Skip school
• Have a boyfriend or girlfriend
• Start having sex
Sometimes people do things because they want to be liked, or they worry that they’ll get teased if they don’t follow the crowd. It’s normal to want to fit in with everyone else, but in the end people will think you’re a lot cooler if you learn to make your own decisions.

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