Peer pressure is one of the toughest challenges kids face while growing up. It is also one of the top reasons why kids get into trouble. Unfortunately, in the age of camera phones and the Internet, the mistakes kids make can haunt them for the rest of their lives. To stand up to peer pressure, kids must first decide who they are and what they stand for. I help them develop 4 key values of self-leaders – self-responsibility, integrity, respect, and self-respect. Next, kids must choose what they want for themselves before they are in a tough situation, so I teach them how to make good decisions. And finally, kids must learn how to say “no” to their peers and “yes” to themselves. We give kids the language they can use when in tough situations and we practice, practice, practice.

I have a 6-session package that will help kids develop a strong inner compass, learn how to make good decisions, and stand up to peer pressure:

Introduction
Peer pressure is one of the toughest challenges kids face while growing up. It is also one of the top reasons why kids get into trouble. Unfortunately, in the age of camera phones and the Internet, the mistakes kids make can haunt them for the rest of their lives. To stand up to peer pressure, kids must first decide who they are and what they stand for. I help them develop 4 key values of self-leaders – self-responsibility, integrity, respect, and self-respect. Next, kids must choose what they want for themselves before they are in a tough situation, so I teach them how to make good decisions. And finally, kids must learn how to say “no” to their peers and “yes” to themselves. We give kids the language they can use when in tough situations and we practice, practice, practice.
I have a 6-session package that will help kids develop a strong inner compass, learn how to make good decisions, and stand up to peer pressure:

[Skill Book 6] Kids learn that when they take 100% responsibility for their lives it gives them their ultimate power. They get to choose who they want to be, what they want to think, how they choose to feel, how they choose to act, and what they want to create – it is their choice. I share the story, Victim Victor Finds His Power and help kids learn to be “the boss of me”. After the story, we give kids a lot of opportunities to practice so they can learn how taking responsibility helps them be more powerful in all areas of their lives.

[Skill Book 7]
Next, we talk about the value of Integrity. Integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one else is looking. When kids live their lives with integrity they learn to trust themselves and others can trust them too. This leads to power self-confidence and self-esteem as they learn that their word matters even if they are the only person who hears it. I share the story No One Will Know Nelson and help kids learn about the power of integrity! We also discuss challenges to our integrity and how to handle broken integrity. At the end of the session we do a very powerful activity called “How red is the water” that will anchor the impact of integrity for the rest of their lives.

[Skill Book 8]
The next session focuses on the value of respect. In this session, kids learn that every time they are with someone they leave a “mark” depending on how they treat them. Treating others with respect means following the Golden Rule – to treat others as you would want to be treated. They learn that when they use manners and treat others with kindness, they leave “gold hearts” everywhere. I share the story, Make Your Mark with The Golden Rule. We then have a fun activity where we make gold hearts for people in their lives. Kids are also challenged with teaching the power of gold hearts to their family at home. It is a very powerful session.

[Skill Book 9]
During the next session, kids learn about the second half of the Golden Rule that is rarely discussed, and that’s self-respect. Having self-respect means giving yourself a “gold heart”. It means standing by your values and treating yourself with as much kindness, patience, compassion, and understanding that you would have with your best friend, your favorite teacher, or your favorite relative. Choosing self-respect
builds powerful self-esteem. I share the story, My “Mark” on Me, and they practice making gold hearts for themselves.

[Skill Book 10 – note that this skill may take 2 sessions]
After we have grounded in core values of self-leaders – developing that inner compass, we shift into how to make good decisions.
When children are born, their parents make 100% of their decisions for them – from what they eat to what they wear to where they go. By the time they leave home, they need to be able to make good decisions for themselves 100% of the time!
Knowing what they believe about key issues such as cheating, lying, stealing, using drugs or alcohol, engaging in sexual activity, and cutting class can help kids stand against peer pressure and stay focused on their goals.
The goal of this session is to help children learn how to make good decisions and provides a platform for them to make a decision about the critical issues listed above before they actually face them. I share the story Charlie Chooses Charlie to help kids understand the importance of choosing what they want for themselves before they are in a peer pressure situation. Then we practice using the “Four C’s of Decision Making” module for choosing what they want for themselves in key areas of their lives

[Skill Book 11]
For kids, knowing what they stand for, choosing what they want for themselves, and learning how to say “no” to peers and “yes” to themselves is critical for standing against negative peer pressure. I share the story Copy Cat Cathy and discuss the five different types of peer pressure. I also have the kids brainstorm examples for each type of peer pressure, so they can practice recognizing it when they hear it. We also discuss different “no” statements they can use and have each child choose and practice two or three “no” statements that work for them. Then we practice, practice, practice. Role playing is a critical part of developing this skill because it helps kids identify challenging situations and lets them practice how to respond to them.