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Teen drug abuse: Help your teen avoid drugs
Other preventive strategies
In addition to talking to your teen, consider other strategies to prevent teen drug abuse:
- Know your teen's activities. Pay attention to your teen's whereabouts. Find out what adult-supervised activities your teen is interested in and encourage him or her get involved.
- Establish rules and consequences. Make it clear that you won't tolerate drug abuse. Rules might include leaving a party where drug abuse occurs and not riding in a car with a driver who's been abusing drugs. Agree on the consequences of breaking the rules ahead of time — and enforce them consistently.
- Know your teen's friends. If your teen's friends abuse drugs, your teen may feel pressure to experiment, too. Get to know your teen's friends and their parents.
- Keep an eye on prescription drugs. Ask your doctor if any medications prescribed for your family have a potential for abuse. Take an inventory of all prescription and over-the-counter medications in your home and keep them out of easily accessible places — such as the medicine cabinet. If your teen needs to take medication during school hours, find out if it can be stored in the school's health office rather than in your teen's locker.
- Provide support. Offer praise and encouragement when your teen succeeds, whether at school or at home. A strong bond between you and your teen may help prevent your teen from abusing drugs.
- Set a good example. Don't abuse drugs yourself.
Recognizing the warning signs of teen drug abuse
Be aware of possible red flags, such as:
- A sudden or extreme change in friends, eating habits, sleeping patterns, physical appearance or school performance
- Lost interest in favorite activities
- A hostile or uncooperative attitude
- Visits to pro-drug Web sites
- Secrecy about actions or possessions
- An unexplained disappearance of household money
- Empty drug or medicine containers or drug paraphernalia in your teen's room
- An unusual chemical or medicine smell on your teen or in your teen's room
Seeking help for teen drug abuse
If you suspect that your teen is abusing drugs, talk to him or her. Avoid accusations. Instead, ask your teen what's going on in his or her life and encourage him or her to be honest. If your teen admits to abusing drugs, let him or her know that you're disappointed. Be sure to enforce the consequences you've established so that your teen understands that using drugs will always result in a loss of privileges. Explain to your teen ways that he or she can help regain your lost trust, such as improving grades. If you think your teen is involved in significant drug use, contact a doctor, counselor or other health care provider who specializes in drug problems.
Remember, it's never too soon to start talking to your teen about drug abuse. The conversations you have today can help your teen make healthy choices in the future.
Previous page(2 of 2)
- Tips for talking with your child about drugs. American Council for Drug Education. http://www.acde.org/parent/Tips.htm. Accessed Dec. 1, 2009.
- Signs and symptoms of drug use. American Council for Drug Education. http://www.acde.org/parent/signs.htm. Accessed Dec. 1, 2009.
- 10 ways to trick your teen into a healthy, drug-free lifestyle. http://www.timetotalk.org/downloads/halloween_10_Ways_2009.pdf. Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Accessed Dec. 1, 2009.
- Drug abuse prevention starts with parents. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://patiented.aap.org/content.aspx?aid=6299. Accessed Dec. 1, 2009.
- Substance abuse treatment for children and adolescents: Questions to ask. American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/substance_abuse_treatment_for_children_and_adolescents_questions_to_ask. Accessed Dec. 3, 2009.
- Teens: Alcohol and other drugs. American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/teens_alcohol_and_other_drugs. Accessed Dec. 3, 2009.
- A parent's guide to preventing teen cough medicine abuse. Partnership for a Drug-Free America. http://www.drugfree.org/file.ashx?id=9be2b11a-eff5-4840-97b8-a1aab1962e4c&UVer=3cddd48e-13da-444e-a313-7528682d09e1. Accessed Dec. 17, 2009.
- Parents. The anti-drug. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://download.ncadi.samhsa.gov/Prevline/pdfs/PHD1114.pdf. Accessed Dec. 17, 2009.
- Drugged driving. National Institute on Drug Abuse. http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/driving.html. Accessed Dec. 17, 2009.
- Preventing drug use among children and adolescents: A research-based guide for parents, educators and community leaders. National Institute on Drug Abuse. http://www.drugabuse.gov/pdf/prevention/InBrief.pdf. Accessed Dec. 17, 2009.
- Prescription medicine abuse: A serious problem. Partnership for a Drug-Free America. http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/Features/Prescription_Medicine_Misuse. Accessed Dec. 17, 2009.
- Preventing teen abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications. Partnership for a Drug-Free America. http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/Features/Preventing_Teen_Abuse_of_Prescription_and_Over-the. Accessed Dec. 17, 2009.
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