5 Tips to Stop Pre-Adolescent Drug Use
"Pre–teens are experimenting with drugs and alcohol as early as age 11, catching parents by surprise," reported mental health professionals from the The Meninger Clinic. Because parents don’t have the expectation that children have access to drugs before they are adolescents, many parents fail to recognize the signs and symptoms of substance abuse by their children.
Norma Clark, M.D., medical director of the Meninger Adolescent Treatment Program said "the kids we treat have been using for quite some time before their parents figure it out".
"They convince their parents that they are not using, because their parents don’t want to believe they are using". Even doctors often fail to ask about drug use by children.
Some parents went to believe their children even when there is evidence of their use. I recommend you read Talk to Kids about Drugs before They Become Teenagers in order to spot substance abuse in pre-teens.
Fortunately, parents can have very positive influence on whether their children will try drugs. When children learn about drugs at home, they are 50% less likely used drugs according to a 2005 study released by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
The key is to talk your children before they become teenagers, when they are most likely to encounter drugs for the first time says Lynn D"Antoni, an addiction counselor at Meninger’s Adolescent Treatment Program. In adolescence the importance of parents will be replaced by their peers. Therefore, talk to children between the ages of 10 and 12 about use of drugs and alcohol.
According to the 2005 Partnership for a Drug-Free America study, three of five parents frequently discussed drugs like marijuana with their children, but only 33% of parents talked to children about the risk of using prescription medicines or nonprescription cold or cough medicines to get high.
Five tips were presented in article, Talk about Drugs before They Become Teenagers:
- Educate yourself.
- Keep it simple.
- Practice saying "no".
- Get involved.
- Listen and talk often.
Remember, Your Children Live within the Environment Created by Your Choices!
Dr. Hal
Life and Mental Fitness Coach
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Hard facts that appeal to their generation is also helpful. There is some addictions research that was commissioned by a rehab facility that a colleague pointed me to. It’s eye opening for parents, and should be at the very least of interest even to the most disenchanted teenager. This page is about meth addiction http://www.clearhavencenter.com/addictions-research/meth-addiction/, they cover nearly a hundred drugs individually from cocaine, heroin through to prescription drugs, caffeine and more.