D. Healthy Living · Healthy Living

My Choice: Influences, Pressures and Saying No

D3.3 D2.3 A1.4 A1.6 A1.3About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can name personal and social factors that affect people's decisions about alcohol and cannabis at different times in their lives.
I can explain what addiction is and name behaviours that could lead to addiction.
I can use decision-making, assertiveness and refusal skills to deal with pressure.

Words to know

influence
Something that affects what a person thinks or does.

peer pressure
Feeling pushed by people your age to do something.

addiction
When a person feels they must keep using a substance or doing an activity, even when it harms them, and finds it very hard to stop.

cannabis
A drug from the cannabis plant (also called marijuana or weed). In Ontario it is illegal for anyone under 19.

refusal skills
Ways to say no clearly and stick to it.

gambling
Risking money or something valuable on a game or bet, hoping to win more.

Many voices, one decision

Imagine a decision is a ball, and lots of people are trying to kick it: friends, family, ads, your own feelings. In the end, you decide where it goes. Today you'll look at the influences on decisions about alcohol and cannabis, learn about addiction, and build strong skills to make your own healthy choice.

Lots of influences push on a decision, like kicks on a ball. In the end, you decide where it goes.

Remember from Grade 4

You learned that factors like curiosity, friends, ads and stress can push someone toward smoking or vaping, and you practised refusal skills: say no clearly, give a reason, suggest something else, walk away. This year you'll use them for alcohol and other behaviours that could lead to addiction, and you'll add new strategies.

Factors in decisions about alcohol and cannabis

People's decisions about alcohol and cannabis can change at different points in their life. A child, a teen, an adult and a grandparent may each decide differently.

Type of factor	Examples
Emotional	Feeling stressed, lonely or curious; or feeling confident and happy without it
Physical	Being a kid with a growing body; being an athlete; pregnancy; health conditions or medicines
Mental	Knowing the facts and the risks; wanting to stay in control
Spiritual	Religious or spiritual beliefs; many people choose never to drink alcohol
Cultural	Family traditions and values; what is normal in a person's community
Legal	In Ontario it is illegal to buy alcohol or cannabis under 19; it is a crime to drive while impaired
Media	Ads, movies and social media that make drinking look fun or grown-up
Peer	Friends who do or don't use; wanting to fit in

Personal and social factors that can affect a person's decision to drink alcohol or use cannabis.

What is addiction?

Addiction is when someone feels they must keep using a substance or doing an activity, even when it causes harm, and finds it very hard to stop. Addiction can happen with:

substances like alcohol, nicotine (smoking and vaping), cannabis and other drugs, and
behaviours like gambling, or playing video games so much that sleep, school, friends and family suffer.

Not everyone who tries something becomes addicted, but starting young raises the risk. Addiction is a health problem, and people can get help and recover. The healthiest choice for kids is to not start.

New refusal strategies

Add these to what you learned in Grade 4:

Broken record: say the same thing again and again. "No thanks." "No thanks." "I said no thanks."
Blame it on someone: "My mom would know in two seconds."
Reverse the pressure: "If you're my friend, you won't keep asking."
Make an excuse: "I have to go. I have practice."
Change the subject or suggest something else: "Let's go get snacks."
Leave and tell a trusted adult if someone keeps pushing or if anyone is in danger.

Just for fun

The broken record strategy is named after old vinyl records. When a record got scratched, it played the same tiny bit of song over and over... and over... and over. "No thanks." "No thanks." "No thanks." Now you're the record!

Using the decision-making process

Remember the decision-making steps from Grade 4? Here is a shorter version:

What's the situation? What are the risks?
What are my options?
What are the pros and cons of each? Think about health, safety, the law, my values and my family's rules.
Do I need an adult?
Choose and act, using assertive words.
Reflect afterward.

The six decision-making steps. Step 3 means thinking about health, safety, the law, your values and your family's rules.

Worked example

Let's use the steps

At a sleepover, an older cousin finds a bottle of wine and says, "Let's try some. Nobody will know."

Situation and risks: alcohol is illegal for kids, can harm a growing brain, and a small body is strongly affected. We'd break the family's trust.
Options: try it; say no and stay; say no and suggest something else; leave the room and tell an adult.
Pros and cons: trying it = risky, illegal, against family rules. Saying no and suggesting a movie = safe, keeps the fun going. Telling an adult = safest if the cousin keeps going.
Choose and act: "No thanks. I don't want to. Let's start the movie." If the cousin keeps pushing: "I said no." Then tell an adult.
Reflect: "I felt nervous, but I stuck to my choice. That felt good."

Say no clearly, suggest something else, and get an adult if the pressure continues.

Worked example

Let's spot a pressure that isn't a drug

Kai plays an online game until 1 a.m. most nights. He's tired at school and skips hockey to play more. He buys loot boxes (mystery prizes) with his birthday money hoping for a rare item.

Warning signs: losing sleep, skipping activities he used to love, spending money hoping to win something.
Loot boxes work a lot like gambling: you pay without knowing what you'll get.
Decision: Kai can set a time limit with his family, turn off purchases, and plan screen-free time.
Help: he talks to his parents and they make a family tech plan together.

Kai's gaming is starting to cause harm. Spotting it early and setting limits helps prevent a habit from becoming an addiction.

Hands-on activity

Pressure-proof practice

You need: index cards or paper, a pencil and a grown-up.

Write 6 pressure lines on cards, like "Come on, just one sip," "Everyone's doing it," "Are you scared?" or "One more level, stay up!"
Write each refusal strategy on its own card (say no, give a reason, broken record, blame someone, reverse the pressure, make an excuse, suggest something else, leave).
Your grown-up reads a pressure line. You pick a strategy card and answer with assertive body language.
Switch roles. Which strategies felt most natural to you? Circle your top 2.

What to look for: a firm, calm voice, eye contact, and sticking to "no" after more than one push.

Your turn

Name four types of factors that can affect decisions about alcohol or cannabis.

What is the legal age for buying alcohol or cannabis in Ontario?

What is addiction?

Name three substances or activities that could lead to addiction.

What is the broken record strategy?

Give an example of a reverse the pressure line.

Why might a person's decision about alcohol be different at age 10, 30 and 70?

More practice: warm-up

True or false: you need to give a long explanation when you say no.

A friend says, "Everyone is doing it." Which kind of factor is this?

A beer ad shows people laughing at a cottage. Which kind of factor is this?

Can gaming become a problem habit?

What can you do if someone keeps pushing after you've said no?

More practice: on your own

Someone chooses not to drink alcohol because of their religion. Which type of factor is this?

Why is starting to drink or use cannabis young riskier?

Why are loot boxes in games similar to gambling?

Choose two refusal strategies and write what you'd say if someone offered you a vape.

Explain how assertive is different from passive when saying no.

Challenge

Your best friend starts gaming every night until very late and is grumpy at school. Using what you know about addiction, what could you say and do?

Explain how two different factors could work together to help someone decide not to drink as a teen.

Write a short scene (4 to 6 lines) where a character uses three different refusal strategies.

Check your understanding

Quiz

A friend says "Just one sip, everyone's done it." This is an example of...

Which is addiction?

Which activity can lead to addiction even though it is not a drug?

Saying "No thanks" again and again is called...

In Ontario, alcohol and cannabis are legal to buy at age...

Which is an assertive refusal?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: This lesson covers two Grade 5 expectations: identify personal and social factors (emotional, physical, mental, spiritual, cultural, legal, media and peer influences) that can affect a person's decision to drink alcohol or use cannabis at different points in their life (D3.3), and demonstrate the ability to apply decision-making, assertiveness and refusal skills to deal with pressures pertaining to alcohol use or other behaviours that could later lead to addiction (e.g. smoking, vaping, drug use, gambling, video game use) (D2.3).

How to help at home:

Share your family's values and rules about alcohol, cannabis and gaming clearly.
Offer your child an "out": they can always say, "My parents would be really upset," or text you a code word to be picked up, no questions asked.
Make a family tech plan (screen times, in-game purchases off).

Common difficulties: feeling that saying no will cost friendships; not seeing gaming or loot boxes as connected to addiction. Avoid scare tactics; honest facts and practised skills work better.

This lesson builds healthy relationships and communication (A1.4), critical thinking and decision making (A1.6) and positive motivation and perseverance (A1.3) as your child sticks to a choice under pressure.