Drug use can result in a lot of pain and wasted potential in the typical home, and that’s why it’s important to do all you can do to make sure that your teens know about the risks involved with it. That said, it may be a lot easier said than done to suggest that parents need to talk to their teens about drugs. This is because it can be tough to know where to start, what to cover, and how to make sure that your words have the intended effects. If you’re stuck, here are four tips that can help you when it comes to talking to your teens about drug use.
1. Avoid Scare Tactics
Firstly, scare tactics are generally not the best method to use when talking about drugs to teens. That’s because they can easily see through exaggerations, and this does nothing to scare them off of trying the drugs. If anything, it could fuel their curiosity and drive them to seek out these experiences. They can access a lot of information on drugs and more on the internet, so they’ll simply check the facts and may discredit the whole message if there are elements of untruths in it.
Instead, you can share with them factual information in a way that’s not meant to scare them from something that they may have heard about in a different light before. One of these facts is that the leading cause of accidental death in the United States is drug overdose, with 52,404 lethal drug overdoses in 2015. This epidemic is being driven by opioid addiction, with 20,101 deaths from overdoses related to prescription pain relievers and 12,990 deaths from overdoses related to heroin in 2015.
2. Talk About the Legal Repercussions
Don’t forget to mention the legal repercussions of drug use to your teen while talking to them about drugs. This may seem obvious, but it might be new information to them in as much as they have access to tons of information online. That’s because such information may not be shared widely in the places that they’re most likely to visit, making it easy to overlook. As such, you can let your teen know that 1.16 million Americans are arrested every single year for the sale, possession, or manufacture of substances deemed to be illegal. Talking about the various charges possible and punishments like fines and jail terms may dissuade your teen from trying out drugs as it won’t be a blatant scare tactic.
3. Do Away With Social Stigmas
Many social stigmas are associated with the use of drugs, and these typically do more harm than good. You’ll have a better impact if you can talk to your teens about drugs without using shameful language or instilling fear. You create a free environment in which your teens can talk to you about any issues that they may run into which should be considered a normal part of life as opposed to the end of the world. Let your teens know that repeat offenses for possession of drugs can be penalized by 15-year prison sentences as well as fines reaching $50,000.
4. Start the Conversations Early
Finally, make sure to start talking to your teens about drugs as early as possible. That’s because, as mentioned, there are many sources of information about drugs to them. You don’t want them to get the wrong ideas by hearing false information about drugs and drug use, since this could lead them down a very risky path. Learn about the best ways in which you can have effective talks about drugs with your teens as early as you can, and you have a good chance of setting them down the right path.
These four tips should give you an idea of how to talk to your teen about drugs. Try and do it as soon as you can, making it happen rather than waiting for the right moment.
