A Parent's Guide to Teens and Drugs

For the past couple of decades there has been an onslaught of information released about teens and drugs. The statistics show however that the problem is still significant. The last compiled statistics show that between grades eight and twelve a large percentage of teens have tried illicit drugs.

8th grade- 30.3%
10th grade- 44.9%
12th grade – 52.8%

These numbers only correspond to illicit or illegal drugs, when you add in the number of teenagers who are drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes the numbers climb even higher.

This leaves the question of what a parent can do. The first thing a parent must realize is that it can be your child. Never get drawn into the thinking that says your child would never do something like that. The best raised children can and do get drawn into a life of drug abuse and alcoholism.

Another mindset that parents need to avoid is thinking that alcohol use is not as bad as illegal drugs such as marijuana, heroin or cocaine. When it comes to teens and drugs alcohol is responsible for five times as many deaths per year as the other drugs combined.

Take Action

Now that you have dealt with faulty mindsets about teens and drugs it is time to get proactive. When children cross that magical threshold from childhood to teenager, a gulf opens between parent and child that neither is sure how to broach. Your teenager is trying to assert their independence and will talk to you about school, friends and life less and less. Some parents operate from the position that their teenager “needs” space and privacy. To a degree, this is true, but if you suspect drug or alcohol abuse, the right to privacy is a moot point.

Nothing is sacred when it comes to teens and drugs; you can and should search their room, phone records and even diaries. Ask any parent who has lost a child to alcohol or drug abuse if they would have invaded their teen’s privacy had they known the end result!

Being involved in your kid’s life is perhaps the best anti-drug campaign you can wage. Get to know their friends, parents of friends, classmates and teachers. Do not be afraid to ask them where they are going when out with friends and then check their story out. Nothing will impede teens and drugs better than never knowing when mom or dad will show up!

If you find out that, your child is involved with drugs or alcohol you need to sit them down and talk about the options. You can be loving but you must also be firm. Tough love is just that and it can be hard to face a teenager who is distraught about going into treatment and begging you for a second chance. Whoever said parenting was not for the weak was absolutely right! In it all when dealing with teens and drugs you may need to ask for support and help, do not be afraid to do so.

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Teens And Drugs

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A Parent's Guide to Teens and Drugs

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