Knowingly or unknowingly, we do meet people or someone close to us, who are into drugs and are addicted to it. We hear about several cases related to drug addiction. There are several governmental agencies and NGO’s who are working on controlling and helping drug addicts. On an annual basis record, there are around 2, 00,000 cases recorded of death due to drugs. Death is caused when the person consumes excess of what he or she can take. Drug addiction is a kind of disease based on abnormalities due to biochemical and some other drugs obtained through natural process. Most cases of drug addiction are noted among teenagers. Due to lack of knowledge about drugs and its effects, children are often seen or caught while doing drugs. Many teenagers start taking alcohol, weed and other potent drugs at the age 10 to 12 years. It is very important for you to educate your child about drugs, what they actually are, how these drugs affect us, what are the consequences of taking drugs, etc. If you are waiting for your child to become mature enough to understand these things then you are completely wrong and you should act now. Prevention is always better than cure and when it comes to drugs, prevention at a tender age is very much helpful. Aware your child about drugs, everything that can be helpful, from what are the types of drug, how they are consumed, how do these drugs look, what does drug addiction mean, how people do get addicted to drugs, what happens when a person becomes a drug addict, etc. so that if your child comes in contact with a drug addict or if any one tries to drug him or her, then he or she will be completely aware of what is actually happening with him/her and they can protect themselves from being a victim to drugs. Make sure that you have a supportive and friendly behavior towards your child when you are discussing about drugs, as it will give them a comfort zone and they will be more communicative towards you related to anything happening around them. For a better guidance and proper prevention, we bring some parenting tips for you to prevent your child from doing drugs.
Support your child
To know what is actually bothering your child or what happened to him today at school you have to be supportive. Go a step ahead for gaining that confidence over your child, and let him get into his comfort zone. This will help him come up to you and share or confess anything. Support him in all positive matters, encourage him to go ahead, try new things and help him reach new goals in studies or sports or cultural activities. Supporting your child will raise the bar of confidence in him and he will be more comfortable having you around.
Educate your child about drugs and its consequences
It is very important to teach your child about the good things and bad things. Teaching your child about what is wrong and what is right, is actually every parent’s duty. A child may not know the difference between medical drugs and other drugs consumed for addiction. It is the parent’s role to explain and educate the child about drugs and its ill effects. Educate your child about the consequences of negative actions and reactions.
Random drug test
If you have suspected your child to get involved with drugs then doing a random drug test won’t be harmful. A random drug test helps you understand and get an accurate result, whether your child is into drugs or not. This will also make your child aware about the fact that you are constantly watching him, his actions and reactions. A random drug test will trigger a sense of fear in your child’s mind and he won’t easily think of getting into drugs as he may get caught.
Know the symptoms of drug addiction
Get yourself educated about the signs of drug addiction. What happens when a person is into drugs? The physical changes, behavior of that person, mental status of that person, etc. seem to differ from how it was previously. Whenever you notice any change in the behavior of your child, make sure there gives a proper explanation to it. Communicate with your child and try to understand what is actually bothering them. To understand whether your child is into drugs or not you need to first figure out what drug addiction are, its symptoms and consequences.
Involve yourself into your child’s life
Get yourself involved in your child’s life. Be the mentor, trainer, supporter, admirer, counselor and best friend of your child. Keep a record of what he or she is doing, who are their friends, where they hangout, etc. Ask them frequently about what is happening around them, what happened at school, how was their day, what did he or she do the whole day. Involve yourself as much as you can in your child’s life.
Don’t make false assumptions
Don’t assume that it cannot happen with your family. You may have a well disciplined child at home but you never know what’s going on with him. He may hide things from you so never assume that everything is ok with you.
Try to be the perfect parents
Parenting is not an easy job to do but always try to be the best parent for your child. Give him as much attention as you can, love him, take good care of him. Communicate with your child, discuss things your child need to know, listen to what your child has to say, understand his thoughts, desires, etc.
Be alert regarding child abuse
Always be alert about the surroundings of your child. The people they come across, the other kids they handout with, etc. Notice where your child’s behavior changes, why does his or her behavior changes, how does your child react around your relatives and friends. Children who are abused or had any kind of bad experience often get into drugs easily. It is solely your responsibility to notice whether your child has been abused by someone or not.
Don’t do drugs in front of your child
Never take drugs in front of your child or never let your child with someone who is into drugs. Children get encouraged about anything and everything easily. When a child sees someone elderly doing something, he or she tries to do the same without knowing what they are actually doing. They might not have that much sense to understand what they are doing is right or wrong. It is very important to secure your child by not letting any drug addict come into contact with him. If anyone does drug at your home, make strict rules regarding not promoting drug intake at home. Also try to keep him aloof from the person until the addict is absolutely clean.
