Parents: Talk To Your Child About Drugs

If you could do one thing that would help your child succeed in school, live a healthier life, and develop to his or her fullest potential, would you do it?

If you answered “yes,” then talk with your child about alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs. Find out what he or she knows. Explain to her that using these substances can interfere with studying and can cause grades to suffer by affecting memory and learning skills. Describe the harmful health effects of these substances. Let him know how these substances can cause problems in relationships and among friends and can tear families apart. Study after study has found that parents make a difference in the choices their children make. For more information on advice for parents, see Parent Drug Resource. Parents, please know that you make a difference!

By the time they enter preschool, most children have seen adults smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol either in real life or in the media, or both. Children today are exposed to illegal drugs as early as elementary school, so it’s never too early to talk with your child about drugs.



Do You Want Your Kid To Be Drug Free?

If you want to help keep your kids drug free, you are the key! Here are seven action steps you can take to help keep your kids off of drugs:
1. Establish and maintain good communication with your child.
2. Get involved in your child’s life.
3. Make clear rules and enforce them with consistency and appropriate consequences.
4. Be a positive role model.
5. Teach your child to choose friends wisely.
6. Monitor your child’s activities.
7. Drug test your kids.

Focus on these seven key things and you will go a long way to help your child grow up drug free.


Drugs Are Everywhere

Drug use among teens cuts across all ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic lines. Youth, especially teens, experience pressure to use alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs at increasingly early ages. In fact, in one survey, adolescents ages 12 to 17 named drugs (along with social and academic pressures) as the most important problem they face. “Every child in America is a risk of using drugs, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status.’ -National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse II.

The 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) states that:
Among surveyed youths, ages 12 to 17, more than 1 in 9 (11.6 percent) reported current use of illegal drugs in the 30 days before the study.
• Marijuana is the major illegal drug used by this group; 8.2 percent of youths were current users of marijuana in 2002.
• Among 12 and 13-year-olds surveyed, 4.2 percent reported current illegal drug use. The primary drugs used by 12 and 13-year-olds were marijuana, nonmedical use of prescription pain relievers, and inhalants.

Statistics show that, fortunately, the majority of youth do not use drugs. However, some parents still underestimate how often their kids are exposed to drugs. According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America (an organization that conducts attitude surveys of youth and parents):
• Eighteen percent of parents think their child has tried marijuana versus 40 percent of teens who say they have tried marijuana.
• Thirty-one percent of parents believe their teen has been offered drugs versus 52 percent of teens who say they have been offered drugs.
• Four percent of parents think their child has abused inhalants versus 19 percent of teens who say they have abused inhalants.

If your child uses drugs, what other risks might he face? According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA):
• Youth, ages 12 to 17, who smoke cigarettes are over 8 times more likely to use illegal drugs and over 17 times more likely to drink heavily than nonsmoking youth.
• Youth, ages 12 to 17, who use marijuana weekly are nine times more likely than nonusers to experiment with illegal drugs or alcohol, six times more likely to run away from home, five times more likely to steal, nearly four times more likely to engage in violence, and three times more likely to have thoughts about committing suicide.

Drug use among teens prevalent! Parents, don’t put you head in the sand. Look up, more importantly, look at your kids. They are being tempted nearly every day with drugs and alcohol. If you drug test your teen, they are more likely to say no!

Drug Test Resources:
Parents Drug Resource - http://www.uatests.com/drug-testing-information/parent-drug-resource.html
Home Drug Test - http://www.uatests.com/types-of-drug-tests/home-drug-test.html
Marijuana Drug Test - http://www.uatests.com/drug-test-by-drug/thc-marijuana.html