Parents

Despite all of your efforts to keep your kids drug-free, one day you might suspect that your son or daughter is using drugs or alcohol. Perhaps you have found an odd-looking pipe in his room, cans and bottles in the car or rolling papers in her laundry. Or you overheard a conversation not meant for you. Whatever the signal, your gut instinct has been activated. How do you know if you need to do anything? What do you do now? Where do you turn for help?

Parents are the most important influence in a teen’s decisions about drug use. You can and do make a difference. If you suspect or know that your child is using drugs, take action now, because the longer you wait, the harder it will be to deal with your child’s drug use.

  • Tell your son or daughter you LOVE him/her and that you are worried that he/she might be using drugs or alcohol.
  • Say that: You KNOW that drugs may seem like the thing to do, but doing drugs can have serious consequences;
  • It makes you FEEL worried and concerned about them when they do drugs;
  • You are there to LISTEN to them;
  • You WANT them to be a part of the solution;
  • What you will do to HELP them.

I need help. I need to know what I can do if my child is using drugs.

Sometimes it can be difficult to relate to a child even if we know they have a problem with drugs. Children lie to us because they:

  • Want to stay out of trouble
  • Feel guilty about letting parents down
  • Don't have the motivation to want to change

The best strategy is to learn how to have the conversation you need to have with your child.

Parent's Resources

General Tips for Parents can be found at http://www.drugfree.org/Parent/Home/

Why Support a Drinking Age of 21?

Suspect Your Teen is Using Drugs or Drinking?

An Emerging Deadly Trend:Waterpipe Tobacco Use

Alcohol, Energy Drinks, and Youth: A Dangerous Mix

The following website has resources to help you learn about the risks, what to ask/say and how to take action: http://www.theantidrug.com/ei/

Prescription and Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs - for parent brochures and other materials: http://www.talkaboutrx.org/maximizing_role.jsp