Tips For Talking To Your Kids About Drugs - Time To Talk.org
Understand Why
When young people use drugs, it is sometimes a form of rebellion,
alienation, despair, peer pressure or some combination. Adolescent drug
use can also be the result of effective marketing targeted to young
people by those who profit from the sale of alcohol, tobacco, marijuana
or other drugs. As a parent, you can have a powerful effect on how your
children deal with these pressures when they see drugs as an answer.
One very effective deterrent is talking with your kids about drugs.
Take A Stand
One of the biggest deterrent to drug use is talking with your children
about the subject ~ early, often, and specifically. Don't despair if it
doesn't seem to register. Weeks or months later you'll very likely hear
your words coming back to you.
Listen When talking to your children about drugs,
don't do all the talking. Listen. Ask questions. Find out what they
think. If you don't listen to them, they won't talk to you, much less
listen to you.
Set The Rules
Children need to know exactly what the rules are. The rules have to be
clear, consistent and reasonable. . . .and enforced. Every child will
try to find out exactly how far he or she can go. And drugs are no
place for trial and error.
Start Early
Just as surely as you need to teach your children not to play in the
street, you need to teach them about the dangers of drugs. They will
very likely be exposed to drugs from kindergarten on. So say it early.
Say it often. And match the message to your child's age.
Educate Yourself
It's not a matter of learning the latest street talk. It's a matter of
learning why crack is so dangerous. . . .that marijuana can is harmful
to the human body. . . and that every illegal drug has the potential of
causing catastrophic damage to your child.
Get Involved
We know that communication with your kids about drugs is very
important. That dialogue is almost impossible unless you've built a
foundation. . . by doing things with them. . . by getting involved with
their school and their sports. . . . and by knowing their friends and
their friends' parents. Perhaps the single biggest deterrent to drug
abuse is communication - simply talking with your kids about drugs.
That's almost impossible unless you've built a foundation. By doing
things with them. By getting involved with their school and their
sports. By knowing their friends.
Don't Preach
Talking and communicating with your child about the dangers of drug use
is very important. But don't preach, or you'll lose them. If a
conversation lasts more than five minutes, you're preaching. Better to
have lots of five-minute conversations. Kids have short attention spans
and shorter memories.
~The above information was based on information from the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
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