Reply to How to teach a teen NOT to be a people pleaser?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Instead of focusing on people pleaser, focus ok teaching her to be more assertive. I have two parents who were both anti-confrontational and not that assertive. My father was a little better than my mother but not much. Part of this is personality. There were three siblings and two of us were very assertive and independent. My sister is more like them.   My parents will put everyone’s needs before theirs and never question anything. It’s been an issue with doctors, repair people, relators, family and friends.

I don’t have answers but I’d keep reminding your daughter to stand up for herself. It’s okay to say no, not just in a peer pressure or sexual situation, but with anything in life. Give her opinions and sometimes she needs to take charge.

Maybe start with having her call and make an appointment if she needs one. I know it seems silly, but my mother even has difficulty calling any company on the phone to do this or especially if she has an issue needing customer service. [/quote]

Good advice. I was raised by two scrappy, working class New Yorkers, and I definitely learned to be assertive from the start.  Some of it is my natural personality, and some of it was their modeling.

I think the very first step with tweens and teens is teaching them to slow down and ask themselves, "What do I want in this situation?" or "Do I agree with this?"  Just teaching themselves to pause to listen to THEIR OWN THOUGHTS and inner voice is key.  Even if they don't (or can't) act on it in a particular situation.  The more they tune into that inner voice, the easier it will be to make independent decisions when needed.

Step two is helping them navigate when to prioritize their own needs/preferences and when to prioritize the needs/preferences of others.  No easy answer there.  That's where parental empathy and modeling/narrating come in handy.  ("Here's why I chose to do X with/for Larla, even though I would have preferred to do Y." Or "Yeah, so I chose to do X, even though I know Larla wanted me to do Y.  It's hard -- she's angry/disappointed/upset -- but I did it because XYZ.  What would you have done?"
[/quote]

You are quoting me and I agree with everything you said. I’m also from NY, so it was an odd combination to have passive parents around so many outspoken relatives and friends. It always made me feel like my parents were getting pushed around and taken advantage of. This could be why I went the opposite way and am very direct and assertive, more of your stereotypical NY attitude. [/quote]

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