How This One Simple Activity Can Save Your Children From Peer Pressure (...but You'll have to fi
The 7 Essentials: #4 - A Culture of Connection
What if I told you playing games is one of the most powerful weapons you have against Peer Pressure! The fourth building block in the Rhinehart Hierarchy of People Empowerment (RHOPE) Strategy, is a culture of connection. Connecting with others helps children answers the question, “Where am I going?” It does this by establishing a safe place for them right now.
Belonging is one of the greatest psychological needs of humans, superseding almost all other needs. It is the rocket fuel behind peer pressure, causing children to do almost anything to “fit in.” Belonging defuses peer pressure because children who are able to connect with small interest groups are less likely to follow the crowd. These interest groups not only provide community, but also provide group goals that satisfy the immediate question of “Where am I going - right now?” Your Action Item
Your action item is to find a small group for your child to participate in. This can be a sports team, 4-H, children’s church, youth group, science clubs or performing arts groups. Connections with peers are very important but the most important connections that need to be made are those of family. It’s so easy to all live in a house together but not actually connect with each other. The best tool I know to do this is Family Night.
I LOVE Family Night! When your children are little, every night can be family night, but as your children get bigger, you’ll find that schedules and activities tend to fight against your family structure. I love extracurricular activities, and as I just mentioned, it’s important that your children have connection points, but don’t get me goin’ on my soap box about out of control schedules. Everything is in moderation and must be scheduled to enhance your family life, not stress it out. Family Night is so important that I’ve dedicated the 3rd video to this subject so watch for its link in your email.
All my best,
Deanna
Parent Note: For every Heavenly principal there's an earthly application; like the two sides of a coin. You can apply one aspect or the other depending on your world view, but when both are applied the results are extraordinary. There are 7 Essential Elements required for children to be emotionally safe that happen to correspond with 7 critical aspects of our identity. They are intrinsic by nature. When these are satisfied, your children are much less likely to succumb to peer pressure because they are empowered with tools to meet their emotional (intrinsic/spiritual) needs.
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