Influence

Peer Pressure

Peer pressure is the social pressure by members of one's peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform in order to be accepted. Peer pressure can cause you to do and say things that you do not necessarily mean and you do not necessarily believe is right. Peer pressure starts at an early age and the risks and dangers generally climax during the high school years, although peer pressure can continue through out your adult life. Your friends or peers, are the people your age or close to it who have interests, activities and experiences similar to yours. You and your peers make numerous decisions everyday dealing with school, relationships, drugs, alcohol and many others. You are naturally influenced by the decisons and behaviors that are around you and as you get older and more independent, your peers tend to hold a greater importance in your life than they did when you were a child. 

How Does Peer Pressure Affect Young Children?

It is human instinct as a young child to imitate the actions, sounds, words, and facial expressions of your parents. From the time a child is just a few months old they learn to imitate facial expressions and sounds that the people around them make. As a child gets a bit older there parents are the biggest influence in their lives. Many children say that when they grow up they want to be just like mommy or daddy. Why is that? At that age a child is constantly around their parents. Unless they are at daycare or preschool, they are usually in the presence of their caretaker at all hours of the day. Although their main influences are their parents peer pressure does begin at this age. It is natural for a young child to follow the crowd and mirror the actions of a child that may seem to be more advanced or mature than the others.  Starting as small as young toddlers, certain children influence the others to seclude a certain child or cause physical or verbal abuse to the child. 
Picture
In daycares, it has been reported that some children display bad behavior and cause commotion to show that he or she is tough and in control. Often these strong personalities manipulate others to follow them. At other times a child does it for attention and others follow thinking that they will receive it too. Small children also follow the crowd based on the natural human desire for acceptance. 

School Days

As a child gets to the age where they are old enough to attend school, their peers become more present in their lives and have a much greater influence on the actions and decisions displayed from the child. Especially as children get to their preteens, (ages 9 through 12), they build stronger friendships and they are much more influenced by the children around them. As children get to this age they value what their friends and peers think of them more, and hold less value to what their parents think. Children are no longer trying to be like mommy and daddy, they want to be just like their peers. A child's peers in some way influence everything from the way they dress to the sports they play and the activities they choose. As children grow into their preteens the pressures of fitting in are greatly influencing their lives and dangers can result such as depression, eating disorders, and physical harm. 

Clothes

Generally due to the desire to fit in and basically be like everyone else, young girls are constantly trying to look exactly like their peers by wearing the same clothes. Some children will do anything to fit in and are dying to be accepted. This results in children coming home from school begging their parents to go out and buy the "in" thing to wear. Girls are inclined to mimic the people they admire in fashion. Although television, celebrities, and magazines greatly influence the styles and trends that come out, children are constantly seeking the opinion and outlook of their peers in the area of fashion. The pressures of fitting into a specific group or clique begin around the time of middle school. Especially with girls, cliques really determine your style. The influence of your peers becomes much more important and individualism slowly drifts away. 
Picture
It is displayed in television shows and movies, it is shown in real life, kids tend to wear what their friends are wearing. The group of friends that you choose to associate with on a daily basis influences the style that one chooses possess. Although it is stereotypical, athletic kids tend to look it, rebellious kids look it, and intelligent kids look it. It is natural for a kid to try to fit in with and assimilate with a certain group of people that they feel comfortable with and it is only natural for them to dress similar. A person's exterior, (their clothing, hair, expressions etc.) really influence how they are viewed in society. Judging by exterior is natural and clothing is not only an influence of the friends you choose, but it is an influence of how people think of you. 

Activities 

From sports to clubs, the activities you choose to be involved in strongly influence the friendships that build during the school years and common interests tend to keep these friendships strong. If a parent starts a child young with sports they be influenced to hold a higher importance in team effort, getting along, and working together. If a child doesn't find their niche or interest by a certain age, they tend to become somewhat of loners and have trouble finding friends and fitting in. A child who doesn't have any specific interest can often become reserved and quiet. It is essential for a child to be involved in some type of activity in order to learn and grow as a person. Activities not only help a child emotionally, but they influence a child to get involved with the right group of people. The qualities that people who participate in certain activities may have, are often ones that a child will learn to possess by being in that environment. 
As stated above, sports really have a positive impact on a child's values and personality. Sports give a shy child an opportunity to open up to their peers. They also give a child the opportunity to stand out and excel at something. This can really benefit a child who is not extremely secure and confident. 
 

Abusive relationships
effect of alcoholic and drug addicted parents
how violent parents lead to violent kids
http://www.turben.com/article/83/282/Development-of-Imitation-Skills
http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/friend/peer_pressure.html
BC-babies.jpg
http://www.babiestoday.com/articles/childcare/baby-bullies-in-daycare-20/
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/child/middlechildhood9-11.htm
http://social.jrank.org/pages/268/Friendship-Influence-Friends-on-One-Another.html
http://thesportseffect.org/tag/child-behavior/