Drug Use In The Home

Drug Use In The Home

Drug use has become a major issue around the world. As the drug use problem grows we see it affecting us in many ways. One of the ways drug use affects us the most is when children become victims of its’ deadly effects. As children are exposed and affected by drugs at a young age it is the responsibility of parents to protect them from the many dangers of drugs. Parents need to know how to help their children avoid using drugs and if the children are using drugs, how to help them stop using drugs before their lives are dangerously impacted.

Preventing drug use should be the first step in dealing with drugs. By talking openly with children parents can help children understand that they care about their well-being and their future. Parents must analyze their children’s level of exposure to drugs and age group in order to talk to them according. If children are young and not familiar with drugs, parents need to let them know drugs exist and that drugs should not be part of their life. Children need to know drugs are forbidden and simply that drug use is not allowed. If children are in their teen years and have a higher exposure to drugs they need to understand how drugs can hurt them now and how they can have a negative effect on the rest of their lives. Children must know that one’s decisions in life will always have a ripple effect and affect the rest of our lives. There are choices that children will make today that can change who they are 20 years from now. As stated in the WEBMD article, Responding to teen substance use (Sept. 13, 2006), “The effects cause changes in a teen's alertness, perceptions, movement, judgment, and attention.” Along with these effects, the teen may also “have difficulties in school or even drop out,” as per WEBMD (Sept. 13, 2006) which will defiantly alter the course of the rest of their lives. The choices that children make as they change from teens to adults will define the type of adults they become.

As children grow older and are exposed to drugs in their social life environment they can easily make mistakes and give into peer pressure or simply want to experiment with drugs. Parents need to be prepared to recognize if there is a drug use problem. Parents must prepare themselves by learning the symptoms and side effects of the different drugs children are and will be exposed to. In the ABOUT.COM website article, Parenting for Adolescents, by Denis Witmer (2007), is a list of symptoms to look for. In this article the author list signs to look for at home and signs to look for in school environment. The author also lists Physical and emotional signs that can be detected to determine if drug use is occurring. Parents must also learn to notice children’s behavior change and look at their friends. The type of company children choose can be an important factor in what type of environment they will be surrounding themselves with. At this point, it is extremely important that parents are always aware of what children are doing and who they are dong it with. As growing teenagers, children expect privacy, but if they choose to hide activities from parents, it will probably be due to the fact that it is something they should not be doing. If a parent is suspicious of their child, one must do anything that needs to be done to confirm their doubts. Sometimes parents choose to ignore or disbelieve that the problem is before them and it is too late before they attempt to do anything. Drugs not only have short-term effects, but they can have long-term effects in children such as problems with the judicial system and/or can lead to their death. Many times when children are involved in drug use and they get into trouble with the judicial system, parents can help them recover, and get back on track with their lives. Other times when they drug use has gone too far and leads to their death, it is too late.

Exposure to drugs is mostly everywhere today. This problem has been growing bigger and bigger every year. The war against drugs is the longest war ever fought by this country and the world. Parents must attempt to protect their children from this war by minimizing children’s exposure or at least limit their access to drugs. Children spend most of their time either at school or in some sort of school activity. Parents should make every attempt to be involved in school activities and volunteering to assist in the organization of extracurricular activities. Many parents believe that if children are in school they are safe, but may times it is at school where they are mostly exposed to the danger of drugs. Therefore, parents must make every effort to be involved in their children’s school activities. By doing so not only do they know what their children are doing but parents are able to monitor who their children are hanging out with. Parents may not be able to keep drugs away from their children, but they can certainly educate their children on the dangers of drug use and help them make the right choices. With this type of parental involvement, parents can also get to know the parents of their children’s peers and together, parents can reduce the risk of drug use. As children grow from teenagers to adults, they are deciding who they will be as adults and what kind of person he or she will be. Many times we as parents choose not to believe that their children would be involved in these type of situations, but as stated by researcher Laura Bierut, M.D. whom works in St. Louis at Washington University in the psychiatry department in a journal news release cited in a Miranda