Navigating the Pressure to Fit In

The hallway of my junior high school seemed less like a passageway from class to class, and more like a gauntlet. Walking that hallway was painful business as my self-conscious self wondered where – if anywhere – I fit in to that mass of same-aged students known as my “peers.” As children move into the early stages of adolescence, peers become increasingly important. Kids feel more secure when they are accepted by a group of friends. Hiding in the confines of a group offers safety to an insecure and self-conscious teen. Peer acceptance is sometimes pursued with reckless abandon. . . and what they often abandon are the beliefs and behaviors you’ve instilled in them as decent, good, and right. Because rejection is feared and to be avoided at all costs, many kids will compromise these standards of right and wrong if that compromise will facilitate peer acceptance rather than rejection. Parents, talk to your teens about peer pressure, decision-making, God-honoring choices, and the nature of healthy friendships.