How to Help Your Kids Say “No” to Drugs
Posted by Manju in Health And Fitness
The best way to help your child “just say no” is without a doubt: communication. It is the ultimate anti-drug. A kid that has an open line of communication with his or her parents (and other trusted adults) is much more likely to be able to have the self-discipline necessary to maintain their cool under pressure.
Peer pressure most often occurs and has the largest impact typically when a person is outside of the place where they feel most secure. Build that figurative safe place with your child so that they can bring it with them. The strength of that foundation may shake, but it won’t easily break.
Similar to having the “sex talk”, many parents are either too ashamed, embarrassed, or even may feel ill-prepared to bring up such taboo topics. Just admitting to having experimented in your younger rebellious days may seem to be like getting a root canal. But it is for this exact reason that you should be more open and honest with the youth of today.
Discuss the pressures that you had to deal with and where and how you failed and/or succeeded. Educate yourself, but don’t try to use that “hip lingo” to impress them. (It simply doesn’t!)
If you do some research you will find, the truth is that cultures from around the globe have a history filled with people using intoxicants for a variety of purposes. Early on, this usage was part of religious customs and strictly reserved for the spiritual leaders (like a priest or shaman) and only then for particular events.
It is really simple; talk to them. This is so important that it cannot be stressed enough, for it not only applies to dangers of the abuse of drugs and alcohol, but also to every facet of the temptation and influence that they and their peers have, in general.
We would like to pretend that the impact that our friends and colleagues have upon our behavior is relatively small. Such is not the case. The truth is that peer pressure is much more prevalent, even now that we have “grown up” and think for ourselves. Both the rebel and the conformist are both subject to the barrage of opinions that society as a whole attempts to push.
Provide your kids with the armor to withstand and the tools to fight back. Not only will your children thank you but the world at large will be in your debt.
For more information on drug abuse recovery, preventing drug use, and related topics, see these articles on Relapse Trigger #7, Relapse Trigger #8 and Relapse Trigger #9.