Role-playing scenarios in which your kids are offered drugs or cigarettes, either by adults or other teens will help if the real situation comes along. Vary the setting: at school, at a friend’s house, at the park, at the mall. Vary the one doing the offering: a stranger, a friend, a friend’s parent. Discuss what to do if an entire group of friends are all partaking in a dangerous substance, including alcohol.
Present your teen with some of these scenarios: a teacher he doesn’t like drops her papers all over the hallway; he sees a friend shoplifting; he sees someone bullying another student; he realizes someone on his sports team is cheating. These give you the chance to talk about doing the right thing even when it’s difficult.
It’s hard to think well when you’re in the middle of an emergency, so rehearsing will help your teen know what to do. Role-play the appropriate responses to a car crash or injured person, a threatened mugging, and to seeing someone break into a neighbor’s house. Practice what your teen should do if he thinks he’s witness to a crime, especially something involving children.
Navigating personal relationships is difficult for anyone, let alone a teenager. Role-playing the part of a friend, set up scenarios similar to these: you (the friend) have lied to others and are now lying to him; you’ve borrowed money and won’t pay it back; you’ve started ignoring him for other friends. Also include scenarios that deal with relatives, such as what to do when your teen gets a present he doesn’t want from his aunt.
Role-playing is useful in teaching your teen how to deal with authority figures, especially those that are difficult or unfair. Help him to practice proper body language, such as standing straight, looking them in the eye and smiling; and a good tone of voice, calm and respectful but firm when necessary.