The Gift of Counter-Pressure

On April 10, 1963, the nuclear attack submarine Thresher was no more. Its deep-dive trials southeast of Cape Cod came to a cataclysmic end and all 129 men aboard perished in 8,400 feet of water. The nuclear reactor probably shorted out and the sub did not have enough power to stop itself from sinking to the bottom and getting crushed by massive water pressure. It was a tragedy. It's interesting to note that while a state-of-the-art submarine was crushed under pressure, there were thinly-scaled fish happily swimming around the accident site. How is that possible? Because the pressure inside the sea creatures was greater than the pressure around them. They were prepared all their lives for it.

What a great parenting parable. Our goal is to make our children so full of faith and happiness on the inside that they won't get crushed under the enormous peer and media pressure in our culture. We need to give them the gift of counter-pressure. And that starts with letting them know just how much you love them.

For more on teaching your kids about handling peer pressure, click here.