Talking to Your Teen about Drug Addiction
Talking to your teen about drug addiction is more than just important, it's vital. In today's complex and busy world, it is frustrating how few chances there are to have conversations about drugs with our children. To ensure that you have regular get-togethers with your teen, try to schedule regular parent-child rituals and family meetings. Rituals, like having meals together at least once or twice a week, playing games, going to the library or to get ice cream together once a week, can be opportunities to help the family catch up and establish better and more open communication that is essential to raising drug-free children.
Family meetings held once a week can also be extremely valuable when talking to your teen about drug addiction. Suggestions for making these successful include having a mutually agreed-upon time once a week and clear ground rules to make everyone feel they get a chance to talk without fear of being criticized or punished. Ground rules that help when talking to your teen about drug addiction are: Everyone gets a chance to talk; one person talks at a time without interruption; everyone listens; and only positive, constructive feedback is allowed. To get resistant teens to join in, combine the get-together incentives such as post-meeting pizza or assign them important roles such as recording secretary or rule enforcer.
Other opportunities for talking to your teen about drug addiction are to take advantage of everyday "teachable moments."
- If you and your teen are walking down the street, and you see a group of teenagers drinking and hanging out, talk about the negative effects of drinking alcohol.
- Watch TV with your teen and ask them what they think.
- Whenever you see an anti-drug commercial on TV, use it as an opening for talking to your teen about drug addiction. Ask them what they think about the commercial.
Most importantly, you can take some simple everyday actions that can make a big difference in your teen's lives:
- Listen to what they are saying
- Look at them when you are listening--make eye contact
- Find out how their day was, what happened in school or with their friends
- Go to their events, i.e., sports games, plays, school shows
- Play games (board games, basketball, etc.) with them
- Talk with them
- Know who their friends are
- Know where your teen is �
- Set clear expectations for their behavior
- Be consistent in your training and discipline
- Give them lots of encouragement
- Create ways to have meaningful participation in their lives
- Ask them for their opinions
- Show them that they matter
- When they do well, praise them
- Talking to your teen about drug addiction!
Your teen may ask whether you yourself have tried drugs, and it's OK to answer yes if that is the case. Most parents these days have tried drugs when they were younger - 60 percent, according to a 2006 Partnership For a Drug-Free America survey - and experts increasingly say it is best to disclose this past to your teen when asked. Your teen, in turn, may feel more comfortable telling you about the drug use happening in their own life.
Here are two ways of talking to your teen about drug addiction and any drug use in your past:
1."I tried drugs because some kids I knew were experimenting and I thought I needed to try drugs to fit in. It took me a while to discover that's never a very good reason to do anything. Do you ever feel pressure like that?"
2."Everyone makes mistakes and trying drugs was a mistake I made. It made me do some dumb things. I love you too much to watch you repeat the bad decisions I made."