Peer Group Influences on Children

Peers are major players in the emotional and social development of kids, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology, in a piece on peer pressure published in June, 2012. AACAP explains that friends and classmates can influence a child at a young age and the pressure only gets more intense as he grows into the teen years. Peer group influence is often seen as a bad thing that involves trying to convince another child to smoke or steal. But a peer group can also have a positive influence. For example, "the group" may turn a friend or classmate onto certain books, music or sports activities.

  1. Peer Pressure In Younger Kids

    • Peer pressure can be a concern for kids of all ages, but the pull to conform to the group -- whether it's following a certain fashion trend or choosing to goof off, or to take school seriously -- is most prevalent in kids age 12 and over, points out University of Michigan Health System. Despite these norms, 8-year-old Jody may wear a new pair of sporty sneakers to school only to run home and throw them in the back of the closet because her classmates said they weren't cool. A child may easily succumb to pressure from her peers because she wants so desperately to belong. She may fear that if she goes against the wishes of her peers she may be cast aside or bear the brunt of jokes.

    Expert Insight

    • Peer groups have greater influence over younger children than researchers once thought, according to a University of Maryland study published in the May/June 2013 issue of "Child Development." The study involved extensive interviews with 381 children and adolescents 9 to 13 years old from a Mid-Atlantic suburban area. The findings take issue with the long-held assumption that elementary-school age kids are too young to get caught up in group allegiance. Peer pressure starts much earlier than adolescence, concluded University of Maryland developmental psychologist Melanie Killen, the study's lead researcher.

    Safety and Self-Esteem

    • Being accepted by a peer group can enhance a child's self-esteem. A kid tends to gravitate toward peers with similar issues and life situations that mirror his own, where he'll likely find solace and feel understood. For example, children from single-parent households may gravitate toward each other. Fitting in with a peer group in childhood is so important that it often carries more weight than what belonging to a church, school, community or family can offer.

    Considerations

    • Parents would be wise to warn their child to distance herself from troublemakers who might encourage her to go against her better judgment and do something wrong or illegal, such as playing hooky, cheating, stealing money from classmates or shoplifting at the mall. Encourage your child to hang out with kids who refuse to cave into negative peer pressure, advises AACAP. Having at least one friend who doesn't think twice about saying "no" to bad ideas can help your child stay on the straight and narrow.

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