Under-Age Drinking (Parent Guides To Childhood Drug Use Book 8)

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Many parents wish their children would never try drugs. Given that fact, what can a parent do? How can a parent prevent abuse? This pamphlet gives parents a sensible, responsible approach for raising children in a world where they confront drugs whether legal or illegal every day. It gives parents suggestions about how to prevent substance abuse problems in kids who don't have problems, and how to recognize and help those who do.

Almost half of teenagers graduating from high school have tried an illegal drug. But before we become alarmed, we should examine what these numbers actually tell us. They tell us the number of young users , not young abusers. Here's what we mean by this distinction:. Drugs are powerful substances that can have harmful consequences. Teenagers or adults abuse drugs if they rely on drugs or use them to excess. However, many people in all societies use drugs occasionally without disrupting their lives.

This is substance use. For example, most adults who drink alcohol do so only occasionally or with meals.

These drinkers differ from alcoholics in the same way that drug users differ from drug abusers. Problems arise when a teenager is not involved in activities that express positive values and does not have a supportive family and social environment. Without these anchors, some children seek ways of escape. Drugs offer such an escape, although their long-term consequences can be harmful. Teenagers susceptible to drug abuse can often be identified by "risk factors" such as poverty, 2 emotional problems like depression or anxiety, antisocial peer groups, and a disturbed family environment.

These factors in turn create low self-esteem and a desire to escape feelings like self-doubt, powerlessness, and hopelessness. Resilience factors include having a strong relationship with an adult and confidence-building experiences at school, work, or other extracurricular activities. Such factors build self-esteem, a sense of personal control, a desire to be healthy, and a link to mainstream activities and values.

What does this mean for parents? It means that you can help your child build resilience to avoid drug abuse. It can be very reassuring to know that the large majority of people who try drugs do not go on to become regular users or abusers. This does not mean that parents should never discuss drug use with their children. But it should give parents greater comfort in thinking about teenage drug use, drug abuse prevention, and drug abuse treatment.

With this new comfort level, parents can focus on helping their children develop skills, confidence, and decision-making abilities. By giving kids some room for experimentation while still establishing boundaries curfews, avoiding driving while intoxicated, upholding responsibilities at home, and so on according to your own values , parents can help their children to make responsible decisions and, eventually, to mature into adulthood. The best drug prevention program is simple: This prevention program starts in the family and continues in school and social activities.

Here are some concrete ways that you as a parent can continue your drug prevention program by helping your child develop decision-making skills and positive interests. Your own habits are very important for determining your child's habits.

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When parents chain smoke or allow smoky air to fill the home, they teach their child a lack of respect for health. Parents are most effective at preventing substance abuse when they demonstrate moderate substance use themselves. Communication is one of those truisms in parenting: Everybody thinks it's good, everybody thinks they should do it, and few know exactly how!

Try this approach in speaking with your teenager: The chances are your child sees other kids at school drinking and smoking. Ask how your child thinks and feels about this. Together, you and your teen can then discuss the issues surrounding substance use, and can adopt principles of healthy behavior. But whatever principles you and your child adopt, open communication is important.

Alcohol in the Media Tips

The inability to deal with emotions can lead to excessive substance use or other problems like violence or irresponsible sexual behavior. Parents can help their children learn to deal with emotions. Try to listen calmly and react without judgment or punishment. Talk about your feelings too. Some of the communication points we've recommended are difficult to achieve, especially since it can be uncomfortable for parents to discuss some issues and feelings with their children. Remember, you can always ask a trusted adult to talk with your child, or stay out of the way as a relationship grows between your child and a responsible older person.

These activities can also give your child a powerful stake in growing up healthy. As children get older, they form more definite ideas about matters that concern them.

Parents can't always follow their children's preferences, but they can take them into account and treat their kids as contributing members of the family, community, and society. Children get a true sense of their importance when they see that their opinions and actions are taken seriously and can affect another person, like a parent. When children show they deserve trust by responsibly following through on their word, parents should give them that trust. We're asking you to do a lot: We're asking you to let your child make mistakes.

In practice, you need to judge which experiences your teenager can safely manage. But we as parents have to allow our children to face situations that require them to use self-control and good judgment. In these situations, children will have to consider their options and the consequences of each option.

This ability to make good decisions is important, considering that parents can't always be around to protect their children. Even though most teens who experiment with substances never go on to abuse those substances, parents need to be aware of actions they can take when a child is abusing drugs or alcohol.

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It is important for parents to remain calm, to deal with the root causes of problems, and to communicate with their children either themselves or through another trusted adult. As a part of this process, parents and teens may find counseling helpful. The source is not the drug itself. Substances can certainly make things worse, and can help that child feel trapped. But taking away drugs or attempting to do so will not eliminate the causes of substance abuse.

On the other hand, changing the causes can alter substance use patterns.

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If a teen's problems and substance use seem manageable, formal counseling may not be necessary. You and your child can determine the severity of drug use: To answer that question, ask yourself some questions: Has a parent or a teacher called me to express concern about my child? Has my child stopped doing schoolwork and meeting family responsibilities? Discuss your concerns with your child and professionals such as a teacher or school counselor after checking first that this discussion will be confidential.

Am I right to be concerned? I feel like you need to think about your own behavior.

Who do you feel that you can talk with? Children need to be a part of the decision to seek treatment. Otherwise, parents are in a position of coercing their children. This kind of "tough love" can be a highly risky business: A study by Dartmouth Medical School showed that parents who restrict R-rated movies where alcohol is often part of the story actually counteract the peer pressure on their kids to start drinking. For Your Family Log in Sign me up. Reviews Find the good stuff, faster — from books to YouTube.

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Media and Body Image. News and Media Literacy. Privacy and Internet Safety. Sex in the Media. Violence in the Media. Alcohol in the Media Tips. It's in kids' movies, games, and TV, but alcohol marketing can be tamed. See our conversation starters. Alcohol, Drugs, Smoking , Marketing to Kids.

Parent tips for elementary school kids Keep them away from alcohol ads. Mute the ads when they come on. Especially the funny ones because the kids remember them and repeat them. One recent study showed that elementary kids could name almost all the alcohol brands showed to them but could only identify two past presidents.

Parent tips for middle and high school kids Spell it out. Let your kids know about marketing and that alcohol advertisers are trying to hook them on their brands — just to get more money in their pockets. What kind of lifestyle are they selling? Do these ads tell the whole story — or do they leave something out such as DUIs, addiction, liver disease, etc.

Moderate alcohol on TV. You have a right to say no to programs that seem to celebrate teen drinking or show too many alcohol ads.

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