YOUTH CAN JUST SAY 'NO'

Young people have a lot of pressures in life.

They are pressured to do well in school, find a job, participate in
after-school activities and resist peer pressure.

Louise Hart, Ph.D., author of "The Winning Family," once wrote:
"Saying no is like giving yourself a present ... it establishes
boundaries. It gives you self-definition and self-respect."

Young people are more likely to grow up healthy when they can resist
negative peer pressure and dangerous situations.

Drugs in our community are a real issue and it is now more than ever
we teach our children to say no.

While all of us want young people to resist negative peer pressure and
dangerous situations, young people do not easily learn what is
important to resist and what is not. So they practice - at times - on
everything.

By saying no, they figure out what they do not want. They are also
discerning what they do want - what they want to say yes to.

Let us teach our young people resistance skills, but also teach them
the values which support why they would take a stand on an issue or
negative peer pressure. Any young person who has had many
conversations with a caring adult, parent, teacher, coach, neighbour
or friend about drugs and alcohol, sex, safety and personal
boundaries, will know what to do when asked to ride in a car with a
person who has been drinking, or when asked to try something that will
give them a "buzz".

So, as we build assets in Princeton's young people, focus not only on
how to resist negative pressures, but also on what to value (what to
say yes to, what is healthy, what is safe). Then, when a young person
is confronted with a situation, we can feel assured they will make a
good decision and stand firm to what they believe.

Resisting negative peer pressure and dangerous situations is not
always easy.

Ways to resist include using humour walk away from the situation,
calmly say no, using a parent as an excuse (i.e., "mom's picking me up
soon so I better not"), being strong enough to share your feelings (it
is amazing how many people will respect you for that), calling a
friend or parent to help you, tell a caring adult and staying away
from that situation from then on.

The above information was taken from "Practical Suggestions for
Building Assets in Your Child" from the Search Institute of
Minneapolis.