1 888-488-8434
Discuss Drugs and Alcohol With Your Teen
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Private Treatment Centers in Canada
1 888-488-8434
Referral Service to
Private Treatment Centers in Canada
Teens in Ontario are coming out about drug and alcohol use. Over the course of the last few months, this writer has seen news items on teens and drinking and teens and drug use. What I see are teens turning it around for someone else. I think a lot has to do with parent involvement as well.
Teenagers can easily fall victim to drug and alcohol use thanks to being bored, peer pressure and filling some need within themselves. But as more and more teens in Ontario are given the chance and choice of taking college credit classes while in high school, many of them are taking that education and using it to help others.
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A young girl in a local college said she wanted to help others as she had problems with teen drinking. She said she would point the finger at others and then realize one day it was her own responsibility.
She stated her parents never discussed alcohol and drugs with her. She has talked about becoming a drug and alcohol counselor in the future.
These are admirable goals for someone so young, and hearing her story, one does not doubt she will succeed in those goals.
Openness and honesty are imperative in a family unit. Just as you would discuss the safety of sexual conduct, you can either talk about waiting for marriage or protecting oneself by having safe sexual relations. An open and honest discussion can prevent so many hardships.
No one can honestly avoid a discussion about alcohol or drugs. Consider it part of your parenting duties, and it shouldn’t be talked about on one occasion but frequently. Your children will feel at ease on the subject and not consider it a taboo. When people can talk openly about something, they are less likely to become victims of its effects. And they can seek your help when trouble arises.
It was quite effective in this north Ontario mom’s relationship with her own children.
“Each of my children has called me in just such a situation. One from a junior high dance stating his buddy’s dad was drinking. We quickly rearranged the night so that the other parents knew.
I would have the boys at my house for a sleepover, which prevented them from getting into the other parent’s vehicle. Once, my daughter called from a sleepover. Her friend’s mom’s boyfriend was there, drinking, and no one else was home, and they were uncomfortable. We went there to get them and had a sleepover at our house.
The third time, my older son admitted he and his friends were drinking. Could I come to get them? I said yes. How the other parents dealt with it, I do not know, but I do know I kept communication open with my own and believe that many heartaches were spared because of it.”