How can I prevent my child from using alcohol, marijuana or other drugs?
Believe it or not, you have the greatest influence on your children’s decisions about alcohol and other drugs. Even when children reach the teen years, they still care about what you say and think. However, they are very good at hiding this!
Alcohol and marijuana are the drugs most commonly used by young people. It’s important to know how drugs affect the teen brain, so that you can teach your child the risks to them now, as well as future consequences.
In addition to talking early and often with your children and teens about the risks (see links about this in the left column), it’s important to know about three proven ways you can prevent alcohol and other drug use:
- Bonding: Children are less likely to drink when their parents are involved in their lives and when children and parents feel close to each other. Family conflict and lack of bonding increase the risk of drinking and drug use. To increase bonding: – Give kids at least 15 minutes of one-on-one time daily
- Do fun things together
- Compliment the positive and healthy choices your child makes
- Eat as a family five times per week - Boundaries: This is about setting clear rules early and repeating them often, practicing ways to say no to drugs, and enforcing appropriate consequences any time the rules are broken. Help your kids choose their friends wisely.
- Monitoring: Always know what your kids are doing. Help them plan safe and fun activities. Drop in occasionally, unannounced. Checking in with them between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. is especially important. When they ask to spend time with frends, ask the 5 Ws:
1. Where are you going?
2. What will you be doing?
3. Who are you with?
4. When will you be home?
5. Will there be alcohol, marijuana or other drugs?
Learn the risks of marijuana use for teens and what you can do in this parent guide.