May 7, 2017

Freeschoolin': Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is an amazingly powerful force.

For our family, we do not curtail to peer pressure, though we are not oblivious to our peers. We respect them (our peers), of course, but we do not make choices in our life out of fear. But peer pressure isn't always a negative thing. This past week our family had an amazing meet-up with our beloved Freeschoolin' friends at an indoor play place! There was only one other child and caregiver with us consistently sharing the facilities. We were having a lot of fun playing and helping our kids out with navigating the experiences around them. The one child with his caregiver became delighted with us being so playful as a group and quickly joined in. After some time, the boy started to push boundaries. He got too close to Hope for her comfort and was not responding to her stating her boundaries so she sought help from Freeschoolin' Daddy and I. We immediately recognized this boy was merely lonely and just wanted to play. His caregiver was mostly sitting in the couch area but we of course did not judge her. For all we know this was her break day and she just needed a rest. Unfortunately the boy was in need of social interaction and was not satisfied with just playing with us. He wanted to be fully engaged and played with by his caregiver. Someone who understood him fully. Peer pressure, when positive, is really just leading by example.

We (as a group) played and played and also tried to play with the boy as often as we could while still maintaining our boundaries for safety and respect. The boy's caregiver, after observing a few conflict resolution moments between the boy and both myself and Jaze ( Freeschoolin' Daddy ), decided to get up and play with the boy. He didn't have an issue with us afterward. Had we judged, had we been annoyed at the boy, we would not have had the positive outcome we are so happy to share with you. We didn't know how it would turn out. We just set the example and acted with kindness, never forgetting to assert our boundaries for respect and safety.

here's to peer pressure being a positive thing!