How Parents Can Help Children to Resist Drugs
While prevention programs designed to get parents involved in keeping their children off drugs and alcohol sometimes emphasize different tactics, most experts concur on the following:
* Remember you are your child’s most influential role model.
* Set the expectations, then follow through. “Be clear that you want no drug or alcohol use,” says Lee Dogoloff of the American Council for Drug Education. “Tell the child what you will do if they don’t meet that expectation. And then do it every time they don’t.”
* Reinforce the message. “Children are not going to learn this the first time, and they need to know you are serious about it,” Dogoloff says.
* Take advantage of teachable moments. Dogoloff says parents who see an alcohol ad on TV might ask the child why the people in the ad all look healthy and athletic and are never shown hung over or vomiting.
* Know what is going on in your child’s life--at home, at school and with friends. “Monitor your child’s friendships,” author Ken Barun says. “The No. 1 cause of drug abuse is peer pressure. These kids need supervision.” Also know the attitudes your child may be picking up from others--including baby-sitters, camp counselors, adult family friends and relatives.
* Know the parents of your child’s friends. “Parents must communicate with other parents,” PRIDE’s Doug Hall says. “They need to let each other know what their standards are in their family.”
* Promote alternatives, Barun says. “Whether it is the inner city or affluent suburbia, there are worthwhile things going on--community activities, YMCAs, athletics, school activities. Not TV. Boredom is one reasons kids get into drugs.”
* Be supportive of community anti-drug programs. “That shows your children your interest in the whole larger picture,” NFP’s Anne Meyer says. “And you have these messages coming from a lot of different directions--the schools, the police, the media--all in support of drug-free families.”
* Know what you are talking about when you talk about drugs. Nothing will turn your child off faster than if they find your information is outdated and incorrect.
* Be able to recognize the signs of drug and alcohol abuse. Act if you suspect your child of involvement.