If you think you don't need to discuss drug
use with your kids, you're not alone: according to a recent survey from the
National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, many
parents have a "don't ask, don't tell" approach when it comes to drugs. Nearly
half the middle- and high-school kids surveyed said their parents had never
talked to them about the dangers of drug use.
Read on to find out why and how you should talk to your kids about drugs,
even if they haven't started school yet.
Why Do I Need to Talk to My Kid About
Drugs?
Why should you talk to your kids about drugs even before
they're likely to be exposed to them? Just as you inoculate your children
against life-threatening illnesses like measles when they are small, you can "immunize" your children
against drug use by giving them the facts before they are presented with the
substance.
"If we as parents do not take the responsibility to educate our children
about drugs, they are going to get the information from other people, and that
information may not be right," explains Lisa Elliott, PhD, a children's
behavioral health specialist. "Often, without that information, because of
peer influence and the desire to fit in, kids will just go ahead and experiment,
and they have no idea what they're doing."