Support young people's self-confidence by setting clear boundaries

You have the best experience of how your youth acts. You have been following their reactions since childhood. An adolescent may try a variety of roles in different groups, but the basic temperament remains. Some children are independent, even bossy, in small groups from an early age. Others withdraw, observe and conform to others – it is not important for them to be the boss.

During adolescence, young people in the latter group may be subject to peer pressure. They follow the signs of how to proceed to be accepted into the group with their “sensors sensitive”.

Young people must have clear boundaries set by adults they can resort to when they themselves are not strong enough to say “I do not want to be involved in this”. It may be a bailout for young people to exit the situation “without losing their face” because they have to go home.

Authors: Parenting Experts, the Family Federation of Finland