Peer pressure can catch our kids off guard.

There's a huge difference between somebody approaching and saying, "Hey, want to try this vape?" and me saying like, "Um, I don't know if I should." And then saying, "Come on, you don't want to be a baby. Just try it. And I don't even know what to say." As opposed to a confident and a resounding, "No, thank you. I have no interest in that at all. You could do what you want, but I hope you respect me for doing what I want." Preparation is one of the greatest antidotes to peer pressure, and it's true when it comes to many things in life. Obviously, if you're prepared, you're going to handle pretty much anything in life better. When it comes to peer pressure, it's usually something that the kid is not thinking about too much. Is hoping it won't happen. And all of a sudden, it comes up in class amongst a group of friends. There it is. They're not prepared. And the most instinctive, safest reaction is to just go along. And that's the power of peer pressure. If the kid is prepared and there are multiple ways to prepare the child, then they've already went through this process, the level of surprise and shock is going to be dramatically reduced and the self-confidence that Rebecca Gber was just saying is the greatest mida that is protective against peer pressure is going to be built and is going to be maintained because they feel prepared. So what does preparation look like? First of all, in school having a curriculum like Darenu and our path seal where there are extensive classes about combating peer pressure. And when they have all these smart ways that make sure to reduce potential conflict and intense altercations and interactions, they're much more confident and prepared. They're much more able to resist the peer pressure. At home, we can do the same thing. As parents, we can reach out to organizations like Amu and Darenu to get resources. You can search online easily to get all sorts of great resources on how to say no, how to resist peer pressure, what are some good techniques, what are some good phrases or little catchphrases that you can say. The more preparation we can give to the kids, the better.