Partnering with Parents
It's a parent's nightmare: your daughter quits school at 15 to have her baby, or your son dumps college plans because he’s using drugs. The PEERS Project provides information for parents to help them make sure their kids get to be kids now, and responsible adults when it’s time to grow up.
Research studies have found that teens want their parents’ guidance: parents have the greatest influence on their decision-making. Parents can help protect their kids from engaging in risk behaviors by:
- Connecting with them emotionally with time and love
- Sharing and modeling their values
- Setting and enforcing rules and limits
- Monitoring their activities, discussing the risks of tobacco, alcohol, drugs and premarital sex. [1]
How the Program Works
From sixth through eighth grades in health classes, and in high school health classes, The PEERS Project’s positive teenage role models help students understand how to be a leader. They lead by example and explain how and why kids must avoid all risky behavior including premarital sex and drugs. They also teach their peers how to develop the character qualities needed to form healthy relationships. PEERS mentors also instruct students about the many reasons for postponing sex until marriage. Short videos supplement the interesting and engaging way the PEP program’s interactive lessons cover relevant topics that are related to adolescence and positive leadership development.
- Why it's cool NOT to have sex
- Respecting both their bodies and others’
- The importance of developing healthy friendships with the opposite sex, and how to do this
- How to figure out if a person “has character” and why this is really important
- How the media and popular culture are really trying to manipulate them
- The harsh realities of teen pregnancy
- The dangers of all sexually transmitted diseases
- Friendship, healthy relationships, and misconceptions about teenage "love"
- Resisting peer pressure and being empowered to take control of their bodies and their futures
Getting Your Son or Daughter Involved
If your community has not implemented The PEERS Project, talk to your principal about bringing it to your child's school. Be proactive by initiating PEERS in your community, and even possibly becoming an Area Coordinator. If you have a teenager, talk to him or her about becoming a Peer Mentor.
To find out more about The PEERS Project, have your principal or superintendent contact The PEERS Project at (317) 592-4015 or visit our contact page for more options.
[1] Udry, JR (2003). National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), Wave I, April-December 1995. Chapel Hill, NC. Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. See also Protecting Adolescents from Harm, The Journal of the American Medical Association. 1997 Sept 10; vol 278, #10.
