Upon reaching their teen-hood, kids become more conscious of themselves and their social standing than ever. This marks the beginning of the quest for self-discovery and desperate search for a place or a group where they belong. Embarking on this new journey, the susceptibility of teens to the influence of their peers goes to an entirely new level. While peer pressure generally carries a negative connotation, it can have a positive impact on the development of children as well. Examples of positive peer pressure are all around us, though we either take them for granted, or simply fail to take notice of them.

The Good Side of Peer Pressure

One doesn’t have to dig deep to find situations in which positive peer pressure is known to play a significant and obvious role. They’re everywhere. All you need to do is recognize them.

Drive to Excellence

How often have we heard kids putting in an extra amount of effort to ace their tests and exams in class just because they want better grades than a certain somebody? Chances are quite often. Children are competitive by nature, measuring their own standing by comparing themselves to their peers. This is precisely what motivated Dunedin High School’s Principal Reuben Hepburn to introduce red bracelets with a bold stamp of merit reading “On track to graduate 2014” among students. The initiative is bringing up positive results, with the grades of students shooting up.

A Positive Support System

Aside from giving teens the necessary push to perform better in class, positive peer pressure also serves as a support system. Kids take great comfort in the fact that they have a close group of reliable friends whom they can turn to when in need of help or guidance.

Induced Abstinence

You may have seen kids taking up smoking or other inappropriate habits because they’ve been made to believe that it’s cool. Naturally, peer pressure is to blame in such situations. However, the very influence of peers can encourage teens to abstain from such habits. Many children have admitted that they don’t smoke or drink just because their friends don’t do it, something that is definitely worth taking note of.

Team Play

Another situation where the positive side of peer pressure becomes evident is athletics. Teens who otherwise had no interest in sports or even fitness for that matter may be influenced by their athletic friends to develop interest in these things. The reluctance level drops significantly due to the fear of missing out.

Confidence Booster

Some teens admit that they were able to pursue their interests in school only because of the backing they received from their peers. Had they been on their own, they would have strangled their dreams due to lack of confidence.

Positive peer pressure is all around us. Many teens experience the benefit of such influence in their daily lives. It’s important to be mindful of the fact that peer pressure is just as good or as bad as the peers that the teens are hanging around.