Drug Rehab Center

By Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC
Director of Family Services, Sunshine Coast Health Center

 The “make sure you look both ways before you cross the street” safety talk, the “Birds and Bees” and “where do babies come from talk”, and, of course, the dreaded talk about alcohol and drugs are a sampling of the many milestone talks that we will have with our children as they grow up through the years. For many of us as parents, the alcohol and drug talk can be one of the most challenging. The following includes five tips parents may wish to keep in mind that, besides the “don’t do drugs” talk, will help keep their kids safe from the harms associated with drugs and alcohol:

Tip #1: Be mindful of your relationship with alcohol/drugs/mood-altering substances

Remember that children’s greatest influence is their parents and parents are likely the first people to introduce to their children the meaning of alcohol and drugs by using substances themselves or through their comments. Therefore parents should be mindful of the meaning substances have in their lives such as: “I need a cigarette,” “Oh no! I’m out of coffee! I guess my morning is shot,” or “What a day! Someone get me a Tylenol.”

Tip #2: Teach your children to work through their feelings

Addicted individuals do not believe they can function without alcohol and drugs. Such people are “numbing feelings,” “escaping pain,” and “mood-altering in order to feel good.” Parents need to help their children understand that feelings are normal and need not be overwhelming. Furthermore, the problems or thoughts that created these undesirable feelings will still be there when the effects of the mood-altering substance fade away.

Tip #3: Allow your children to experience consequences and learn from their mistakes

In life, we as people will make good decisions and mistakes. We need to experience consequences for our decisions so that, depending on the outcome, we repeat or avoid making the same decision the next time.  There are natural consequences for all of our decisions in life. As parents, we can help our children reflect on their decisions at each stage so that they learn to take responsibility for their behaviours. This critical thinking skill will be necessary for when they go through the teenage experimental years and are exposed to drugs/alcohol.   

Tip #4: Teach your kids self-preservation

People do not have to be addicts or alcoholics to die from booze and drugs. Many do so by accident, particularly youth. Drug and alcohol use can easily become a self-destructive activity especially if people are drinking/using drugs in excess and are making poor decisions such as driving while impaired. Statistics show that many deaths and harms associated with drugs and alcohol are committed by accident by the inexperienced drinker or drug user (i.e. fights, car crashes, falls, poisonings, etc.) *. As parents, we can teach our children to practice self-preservation by taking care of themselves and making personal safety a priority.

(*) Source: Public Health Approach to Alcohol Policy: An Updated Report from the Provincial Health Officer (December 2008) P.R.W. Kendall, OBC, MBBS, MSc, FRCPC

Tip #5: Connect your children to positive activities

Youth with dreams, goals, and a sense of belonging will move more quickly through the stage of experimentation with alcohol/drugs. Essentially, drugs and alcohol are “dream-stealers” and youth need to know that if they stay in this alcohol/drug mis-use stage long enough that they will depend on substances to cope in life as they slowly start to give up on more ambitious goals for themselves.

Conclusion

By practicing these five tips at home, parents can begin to plant the seeds of prevention where kids will naturally start to make the right choices. Parents need not concern themselves with becoming experts or worry that their past experimentation with drugs or alcohol will make them sound like hypocrites. By being a positive role model, expressing concern for their safety and health, and involving them in positive activities, parents can help insulate their kids from alcohol- and drug-related harm.

Tags: addiction, alcohol, consequences, drug prevention, drug proofing, drugs, experimental years, natural consequences, self-preservation, youth prevention

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 17th, 2009 at 3:42 pm and is filed under Exploring Addiction, Family Addiction Help, Prevention, cathy patterson-sterling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.