Snowline Joint Unified hosts parent workshop on peer pressure, offers strategies for supporting teens

At a parent workshop hosted by Snowline Joint Unified, Dailene Perez, a social service practitioner with the public defender’s office, led a session for caregivers on peer pressure and peer influence and offered practical guidance for spotting and responding to risky peer dynamics.

Perez said the session drew on developmental theory and frontline experience to explain why teenagers are especially vulnerable to peer influence. She summarized the topic this way: “Peer pressure usually happens in the moment when someone is being pushed or persuaded to do something right then or there. Peer influence, on the other hand, happens gradually over time.”

Why this matters: parents at the session and the presenter tied peer influence to common adolescent outcomes such as changes in dress and music preference, early dating, experimentation with substances and risky behaviors. Perez said those shifts are often a sign that a young person is adopting group norms to gain acceptance, not that someone is physically forcing them to act.

Perez framed the discussion using Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development, emphasizing the adolescent phase “identity versus role confusion” as a time when teens test roles and search for belonging. She identified three levels at which influence typically operates: large groups (school, teams, clubs), close relationships (best friends or significant others) and social media. Perez noted that social media often provides a continuous—sometimes “no break”—stream of edited images that teens may treat as reality; she said some young people spend “5 plus hours” on social platforms, which can deepen the effect.

The presentation included concrete signs and red flags parents can watch for: abrupt changes in mood or appearance, disproportionate generosity of personal items to peers, and friendships that leave a child feeling drained rather than energized. In group discussion, parents described examples such as children returning with missing or exchanged items and young children quickly surrendering personal belongings—behavior parents and the presenter flagged as potential indicators of coercive peer dynamics.

Perez advised several parental strategies to reduce harmful influence and strengthen resilience: build self‑esteem by praising effort, keep open nonjudgmental conversations, practice refusal skills with children, encourage hobbies and solitary activities that “fill your own cup,” and teach family values (honesty, respect, kindness) so children have an internal guide when facing peer pressure. She recommended asking children reflective, open-ended questions such as “How do your friends make you feel?” instead of immediately criticizing a friend.

Perez closed the session with a short remark she said she shares often with youth: “An original is worth more than a copy.” She also provided contact information and a packet of mental health resources—described at the meeting as low-cost or low‑income options—supplied in part by the school district. Lindsay Calderon, identified at the start of the meeting as a district social worker, asked attendees to complete a post‑session survey before they left, saying, “Please fill up the survey.”

The session ended early because of a smaller-than-expected group. Perez invited parents to follow up by email or phone for individualized referrals or additional resources.