Parents can help teenagers deal with peer pressure

Parents like to think they’re the most important influence in their children’s lives, and that’s probably true up to a certain age but then the outside world, in the form of school and friends, intrudes. By the time a child is a teenager, it’s almost a certainty that the opinions and actions of other teens are playing a large role in decisions about everything from clothing choices to hairstyles to academic efforts.

Peer pressure is natural and, in many cases, can be a positive thing. But it can also be a negative, especially for a teen lacking in self-confidence and self-esteem who is anxious...