Excerpt from: The Oakland Press (click for full article)
Not wearing a bike helmet to be “cool” is knuckling under to peer
pressure. Those parents should use this opportunity to explain peer
pressure and its consequences to their son.
He needs to
understand that he must make decisions for himself, and his “friends”
should accept him for who he is. He needs to learn to stand his ground
and be who he wants to be despite what others think of him. He also
needs to learn to make decisions that affect his life based on facts,
and not follow the crowd. True friends will most often make the same
sound decisions that he makes, or accept his decision without pressuring
him.
One other comment: Require the kid to wear a helmet or
forfeit the right to ride a bike. It’s called “tough love” and although
it is tough, it is also rewarding. More parents need to have sound,
well-thought-out rules and stick to them. — PARENT FIRST, FRIEND SECOND
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