Peers and Pressure Part Two

Take the time to discuss the information in this report with your children. It’s never to early to ARM your children with the tools to stand up to peer pressure!

A, B, or C (Made E-Z)

Okay. So drugs, in and of themselves, have nothing to do with good or bad and everything to do with how they affect the quality of life — and the consequences they tend to leave behind.

That’s why it’s smart to think about drinking and drugs before your children start bumping up against hard choices in the real world.

Because you know what happens if you put off talking about important stuff.

It keeps on being important and your children get more likely to do some dumb, spur-of-the-moment thing (especially if their friends are doing it), than what’s best for them.

But how do they decide what they really want? Try having them consider their options at each of the five stages that go into every decision.

Usually, we choose so fast that we don’t realize just how detailed the process is. But when you think about it, there really are five parts to every decision:

Identify the problem (Turnips! Yipes!)

Describe possible solutions or alternatives (Feed ‘em to the dog! Spit ‘em out! Close your eyes and swallow…)

Evaluate the ideas (The dog’s outside! The napkin’s too small! Just get it over with…)

Act out a plan (Play dead! Barf.)

Learn for the future (Find out beforehand what’s for dinner and play sick if necessary…)

Didn’t know you were that complicated, huh?

In case you didn’t notice, the first letter of each step spells out “IDEAL,” and it is pretty much an ideal way to figure out what your options are in any situation — and predict possible consequences.

Yo, more turnips, anyone?

..“I’m Fine”

Talk things through, and if you and your children come up with 16 bazillion and one reasons for not trying drugs and alcohol, remember that there are almost that many ways to say “no,” should the need ever arise.

They can say:

• “Not tonight. I have to study.”
• “No, thanks. I’m in training.”
• “Nope, not for me!”
• “Hey! No way!”
• “Thanks, but no thanks.” or
• “Just leave me alone.” Period.

But of all the ways anyone ever devised for saying “no” to drugs and alcohol, we like one better than all the rest.

They can just say: “I’m fine.”

They really are, you know. They always have been.

The trick is keeping themselves that way. But they’re up to it!

 

Keep your children drug and alcohol free! There are many ways to say “no” to drugs and alcohol. The real trick is actually doing it when under pressure. Children need confidence in order to stand up for themselves. A great way to promote your children’s confidence in themselves is to enroll them in a first-rate Martial Arts program. They will learn valuable life skills and experience rising self esteem as they master these and other skills.

To read Part One click here!

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