Boy Peer Pressure

Boy peer pressure is not like girl peer pressure. Girls submit to peer pressure to conform while boys (so far in my 9 year experience with raising a boy) turn that same peer pressure into showing off or being cool.

Boys adore bigger boys. If they can accomplish something a bigger boy can do, they are on top of the world. And if said bigger boy acknowledges them, well...it is out of this world.

Boy peer pressure. Not intentional. But still very much there.

Which explains why yesterday my son jumped off the high dive for the first time. No one asked him too. No one dared him. It was an impulsive thing that I credit to the fact he was with another boy and more boys were due to arrive (Cub Scouts).

And lo and behold, not 10 minutes later, the other boy did it, much to the gaping of his mom.

Maybe it is conformity but it's definitely different from girl pressure.