When it comes to teaching kids about using and abusing drugs these days, you need to start younger and younger all the time. Even children in elementary school are witness to drug sales and could end up with their hands on drugs that could hook, or even kill, them. That makes it even more important to make sure that your children understand the dangers of even one time drug use.
So how do you talk to them in a way that helps them really understand what drugs can do to them, without making them simply want to rebel and try it anyway. That’s especially worrisome when it comes to talking with teenagers about drugs.
Start With Prescription Medications
It is extremely important to make sure that your children, no matter what age they are, know that prescription medications pose just as many dangers as street drugs do. Many people, not just teens, think that a prescription drug is always a safe option, even if it’s something that wasn’t prescribed to them, and that is very dangerous thinking. Taking someone else’s prescriptions can have dire consequences.
The same goes for taking your own medication improperly. You could easily overdose or at least end up in the hospital quickly by taking prescription drugs inappropriately.
Talk To Them Like Adults
When it comes to drugs you don’t want to talk to your kid like a kid. You want to talk to them like an adult, this way you can make sure that you are sharing all of the honest information with them and that they are understanding the dire consequences of drugs. You don’t want them to take your talk as a joke.
When you talk to your children about drugs it pays to make sure that you get to the nitty gritty details of the dangers of all kinds of drug use, even alcohol and tobacco.
Don’t Share Personal Stories, But Do Get Detailed
When it comes to getting down to the dirt you want to make sure that you live your own dirt out of it. Even if you had a bad experience that you think would make them not want to do drugs, it shows them that you did it and they’ll take that as it being OK to experiment. You lived, so they will too, or so they’ll think.
Instead of sharing personal experiences of your own, find stories and even videos online to show them what drugs really do to people. While they may still pull the typical teen, “just because that happened to them doesn’t mean it will happen to me,” you’ll still be getting the point across deep down.
If you suspect your child may already be experimenting with drugs, you need to get them some help immediately. Experimentation can quickly spiral out of control and turn into addiction.