February Counselor's Corner

February, 2010

Dear Parents/Guardians:

It was great to see so many of you at conferences this month.  I am grateful for your support and welcome any new ideas you may have on how to make the counseling program meaningful for you and your family.  

In guidance lessons this month, we have been busy studying about careers/jobs, as well as how to deal with peer pressure.   Please see below some information that may be of assistance to you (from the Love and Logic institute, Inc. Newsletter, March, 2009).

Peer Pressure:  What Can Parents Do?
Listed below are some tips on how to up the odds that your kids will make wise decisions even when their buddies may not:

*Let them see you saying “No” to your friends…and to societal pressures.  When kids see us resisting the urge to keep up with the Joneses next door…they are more likely to do the same.

*Spend time building and maintaining a loving relationship.  Relationships take plenty of time.  The more we invest, the more likely our kids will emulate our values when we’re not around.

*Help them focus on how their decisions affect them…not you.   It’s tempting to say, “This really makes me mad!” when our kids make poor decisions.  A more effective strategy involves empathizing.  “This is so sad.  I bet it hurts having to deal with these consequences.  I love you.

*Send positive expectations.  Saying, “Your friends are lucky to have someone like you with a good head on their shoulders,” sends a far more positive expectation than lecturing, “That kid is bad news.  I don’t want you to hang around with him.”

*Keep a close eye on them.  While we can dramatically up the odds that our kids will make good decisions when pressured by their peers to make bad ones, there’s no substitute for doing our best to know where they are and what they’ll be doing there.

Thanks for reading,
Pat Head, School Counselor