Talk to Your Kids About Drugs

As a parent, you have a tremendous influence on your child's life. Your constant and caring involvement can help inspire your child to make healthy, drug-free choices. But talking to your kids about the effects is a lot harder than it used to be.

Research shows that many teens are more knowledgeable than their parents are about drugs; especially about the abuse of emerging drugs and over the counter medicines.

Kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs at home are up-to half as likely as their peers to try or use drugs. So talking to your kids about the dangers of drug use, you can keep them drug free. That is why I have added this short article series on drugs so you can talk intelligently about drugs with your kids.

Talking with your kids about drugs isn't a formal, one-time-only conversation. You can steer conversational topics to why drugs are harmful or use everyday events to start a conversation about them.

Here are some tips to get started:

Talk about recent drug-or-alcohol-related incidents in your community or family.
If you and your child see a group of kids drinking or smoking, use the moment to talk about the negative effects of alcohol and tobacco.

One of the best ways to keep your kids drug free is to show them you care. Reinforce your love - say the words I love you.

BE careful not to criticize; describe a better way.

Remember that children often reflect what they have or have not been taught.

Teach the principles of "why," not just "what" to do or not to do.

Listen to them a lot. Avoid interrupting. Give them your undivided attention.

How to approach your teen about their possible alcohol or drug use.

Try talking to your teen -- the earlier you intervene, the better chance your teen has to regain his/her health and return to a drug free life. Try these conversation starters:

1. "I think you've got a problem and I need to talk to you about it"

2. "You've scared me and broken our rules"

3. "Do you want to tell me what is going on.?"

The more your informed you are, the more your kids will listen to you.

Read What The Experts Say

First lesson: As soon as your children are old enough to understand, teach your children that some products found around the house, including household cleaners, aerosols and medicines, can be poisonous.

Drill into your children: "Don't ever swallow anything new without first talking to your parents."

Elementary School:

Children five to nine years old still learn mainly by experience. They can slide from fact to fantasy and back again without even realizing it. What they see, however, is very real to them. Though teachers often achieve hero-like status, it's what the children encounter at home that counts most.

"With young children, what's important is not what parents say but what they do." If the children see their parents drinking and smoking, they're more likely to follow that example.

Most experts agree that it's okay if kids see you having an occasional drink. But if they see you using alcohol as a regular coping mechanism, it's not OK. Moreover, don't let your children be involved in your drinking by having them make you a cocktail or bring you a beer. Now is when you begin teaching your children to make decisions on their own and don't be a follower.

Try to make your children understand that just because someone tells them to do something, that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do. If they're in doubt, they should ask someone they trust.

By the late elementary years, many children know of classmates who have begun to smoke, drink or use drugs.

Now is also when kids begin to encounter inhalants: Pressurized aerosol products such as paints and cooking sprays or model glue. Kids inhale these volatile substances in order to experience a high. The fact that the momentary "buzz" can cause permanent brain damage and even death doesn't occur to these youngsters.

One of the most important lessons parents can teach their children at this age is how to say no. Another thing parents can do is help your kids stay away from places where they may be pressured to use illegal drugs. If there is a party, parents should ask who else is coming and will their parents be home? As a last result, tell your kids if they sense trouble brewing, get out.

Middle School:

When your child is going to middle school it is probably the most vulnerable period in a child's life, a time when peer pressure hits with a vengeance. Their hair gets longer or maybe disappears. Their clothes are bizarre, their music funky. Hormones bubbling, kids this age are curious about everything and willing to try just about anything that makes them look cool.

This is the vital time for parents to keep the lines o communication open. Don't relax your guard! Many young people use drugs simply because their friends do. To reinforce a child's ability to resist, get to know your child's friends and their parents, and monitor your child's whereabouts.

Research has shown when teens are unsupervised and have little to do, they are more likely to experiment with drinking and drugs. Keep your children involved and busy. Extracurricular activities and chores at home keep kids busy and add to their sense of responsibility.

High School:

High school is where peer pressure still holds sway. Being accepted as one of the gang is top priority. And though susceptibility to influence may be less than it was during middle school years, exposure to drugs and alcohol is even greater, especially once a teen gets a driver's license.

Advice to parents:

Setting rules for a child is only half the job. Parents must be prepared to enforce penalties when rules are broken. Be specific, make sure your kids know the rules, and the reasons for them and what the consequences
will be if they are broken.

Here is a good example of tough love: A father talking to his son who is about to get his driver's license. "If you ever drink and drive, you can say good bye to anything to do with our cars. There will be no second chance. Once and it is over. You're too important to lose."

Be consistent, "Just saying no" can be as hard for the parents as it is for a kid.

Another important point. Don't confront your child who seems under the influence. Wait until the effects of the substance wears off, then discuss your suspicions calmly. Impose what ever reasonable discipline you feel appropriate
for violating the rules. Be firm. Don't relent because the child promises not to do it again.
 

Remember, don't let your silence be acceptance.

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