Your Child is Experiencing Pressure at an Exponential Rate!

From the Desk of . . .

Gabriella Motter, Educator, SRAS

Kids these days are going through a lot. But we don’t have to tell you that. I’m sure you’re seeing changes in your child weekly, maybe even daily! Kids have the world at their fingertips, and that’s not news! However, what you may not think about is how frequently they experience high levels of pressure. Our Live Free educators cover a multitude of subjects when teaching your child. One of them is pressure. Specifically, the pressure to be sexually active.

Many of you can remember the pressures to be sexually active (we get it, sexual activity can be enticing). It wasn’t easy to say “no” to someone you may have really cared about, heck, even someone you may have loved! Maybe you even heard some of your friends were doing it. Peer pressure really can convince you to do things you aren’t ready for.

Today’s times are radically different. Your child is in a world that is far more technologically advanced. This means there is a lot more responsibility on their end, and we need to understand that it’s a lot to expect from a teen. They need your help to combat pressure. The way you can do this is by being educated on issues they are facing and being a trusted, communicative and safe place. I’d like to lay out “5 Sources of Pressure” we discuss with our students to help you stay informed.

5 Sources of Pressure

Hormones:

We all have them but as a teen hormones are running WILD! For teens these body chemicals create and intensify sexual feelings. If we allow ourselves to be controlled by our impulses and desires, we can risk the things we value. We can find ourselves in situations that provide temporary satisfaction instead of lasting joy. We need to help kids understand that it’s not bad to have desires and sexual feelings, however we need to control them.

Media:

TV shows and movies have a lot to say about sex. Typically, the message relayed is that “its not a big deal”, “everyone is doing it”, or even “sex is what makes a relationship really work.” Studies show that a vast majority of TV shows and movies have sexual content in them, and the number of occurrences per episode has risen in the past few years. So, what is this telling your child? They may be beginning to think that what is portrayed on the screen is what real life is like, instead of understating that media is a form of entertainment.

Social Media/Sexting:

Here’s something our parent’s generation didn’t have to deal with….the sending of explicit pictures and videos through text messages, emails, social media, direct messages, etc. The effects of online sexual content can last a lifetime due to the fact that what happens online, stays online. The permanence is typically hard for students to conceptualize. We explain that the decisions we make now as teens can affect our adult lives, and sexting is a prime example. You cannot control who gets access to these pictures and how long they will continue to circulate. Even sending a picture that does not contain your face can be tracked back to you through various means such as email address, IP address, etc. The consequences of these actions can put individuals on a list of registered sex offenders. Under the age of 18, your child can be convicted of child pornography. What they see on social media outlets also frames how they see themselves. They have a hard time recognizing that’s not real life.

Peers:

Kids care about what others think. No one likes to feel left out or feel like they don’t belong. This can cause them to mold their life decisions to what they think others may want from them. We encourage students to think for themselves and think about what they can do to set themselves up for the future.

Relationships:

Sometimes teens do not know how to express their feelings. Some think that if they have sex, it is a way to show ultimate trust. Our educators talk through healthy and unhealthy relationship characteristics and how teens can form strong relationships without having to give themselves up physically.

This article is just scratching the surface of the pressures your child may be experiencing. This is why we do what we do. We strive to give teens the tools to build their futures, and we hope by doing this they feel confident to choose what is best to have healthy and happy lives!