Some Things To Keep In Mind When You Talk To Your Child

• Tell your son or daughter you LOVE him/her and that you are worried that he/she might be using drugs or alcohol.
• Say that: You KNOW that drugs may seem like the thing to do, but doing drugs can have serious consequences;
• It makes you FEEL worried and concerned about them when they do drugs;
• You are there to LISTEN to them;
• You WANT them to be a part of the solution;
• What you will do to HELP them.

Know that you will have this discussion many, many times. Talking to your kids about drugs and alcohol is not a one-time event.

Be prepared for your teen to deny using drugs. Don’t expect them to admit they have a problem. Your child will probably get angry and might try to change the subject. Maybe you’ll be confronted with questions about what you did as a kid. If you are asked, experts agree that it is best to be honest. Answering deceptively can cause you to lose credibility with your kids if they ever find out that you’ve lied to them.

On the other hand, if you don’t feel comfortable answering the question, you may decide that the time is not right to discuss your previous drug use. As with other possibly sensitive topics such as sex, you should talk about it when you’re ready. However, if the time comes to talk about it, you can give short, honest answers like these:

“When I was a kid, I took drugs because some of my friends did. I thought I needed to in order to fit in. We didn’t know as much as we do now about all the bad things that can happen when you smoke marijuana or use other drugs — especially when you are a teenager. If I’d known then about the consequences, I never would have tried drugs, and I’ll do everything I can to help keep you away from them.”

“Everybody makes mistakes. When I used drugs, I made a big one. I’m telling you this, even though it’s embarrassing, because I love you and I want to save you from making the same stupid decision I made when I was your age.”

“I drank alcohol and smoked marijuana because I was bored and wanted to take some risks, but I soon found out that I couldn’t control the risks — the loss of trust of my parents and friends. There are much better ways of challenging yourself than doing drugs.”