Most teenagers agree that they will follow a peer's decision rather than their parents'. Peers are more influential in a teen's life and tend to have more power than parents. Peer pressure has always been present and will also always be present. It is not a disease or a crime, it is an influence; either a negative or a positive one. Negative peer pressure is an influence put on a person to do something wrong, or something the person doesn’t want to do. This may be stealing, taking drugs, or other dangerous actions. If someone influences them into doing something like this it is considered a negative peer pressure. I believed that this is a major problem in most schools all around the world. Teenagers usually feel peer pressure when they feel unpopular between their friends or when they want to be accepted in a group of other teenagers. The group is a place where one feels accepted where he/she can feel good about himself or he/she feels secure. It increases their self esteem and it also enhances their self-image. Unfortunately, teenagers who want to be part of these groups need to follow certain unpleasant routines such as stealing, smoking, taking drugs, or drinking alcohol. Many times they do things that they would never have imagined themselves doing before meeting a new group of people. Some teens try to make the "right" decision so others will admire them. Having parents or other responsible adults they can turn to for help or advice is important in a teen's life. Their issues would have nothing to do with their relationships with there parents but there self-image.
Teenagers might also face self-image or weight problems. One of the main illnesses that come from these problems is an illness called anorexia. Anorexia is a sickness that happens most commonly with girls. Girls with anorexia dislike food because they think it makes them obese. Some girls exercise a lot to become skinny when they don’t need to because they are already extremely thin. One reason that makes teens become anorexic is the jealousy of other beautiful and fit girls. They compare themselves with other thin girls in their classes and wish to become like them. Another reason that makes teens anorexic is watching attractive people on advertisements, TV programs, and movies. Also a teenager might become anorexic because their friends might repeatedly tell them that they are becoming overweight. This illness isn’t a physical illness but a psychological one. The parents should try their best to guide their children to balanced healthy food diets, including some daily exercise. They should also tell them that anorexia might lead to dangerous results, and might even result in their death. Although some parents can be misguiding and can lead to many problems for a teen.
Parenting is a mixture of love and frustration. Surely most parents are, at times, angry and conquered by this annoying emotion. Most mothers and fathers have some time, become furious at her/his child. There are times when there is an urge to physically hurt the child (to spank, hit, or shake him/her). It is hard for the parents to know if their urge to hurt is harmless or dangerous. However, harming the child physically takes a huge part in the way the children think of life and their own parents. Their teen children might use drugs or alcohol as a method to forget thinking about the problems caused by their parents. This can also lead the child to a lack of self-confidence and may lead to depression. Hurting their children physically, should be the last punishment any parent would ever think of. Parents must use advisable ways to punish their children such as forbidding them from their favorite hobby for certain duration. The parents can also listen and discuss the problems their children are facing.
Teenagers are not the only ones who are responsible for all their problems. The responsible people may also be their friends or even their parents. I also believe that the teenage period of a person’s life is the most important one. It is the time when he receives his education, and learns the right from the wrong. In addition to this, if the teenager collects his/her bad habits in his teenage years then these bad habits might stick through his/her whole life.
