Here Are Some of the Most Frequently Used Excuses of Drug Abuse
- I was keeping/holding it for a friend.
- A drink got spilled on me
- I just took a sip – I didn’t know it had alcohol in it.
- That smell is my new incense.
- All my friends are doing it.
- It’s only alcohol – at least I don’t smoke dope.
- It’s only marijuana – at least I don’t do hard drugs.
- I just tried it once and I’ll never do it again.
- It’s normal to experiment when you’re a teenager.
- My eyes are bothering me – I probably have allergies.
- I’m just tired.
- It’s cool to wear sunglasses, even inside.
- At least I don’t drink and drive.
- If you think I am bad, you should see what John or Jane does.
- It’s not like when you were young – it’s a different world.
- They made me do it.
Get Involved in Your Child’s Life to Keep Them Away from Abusing Drugs
- Ask about what’s been going on in and out of school.
- Discuss how to avoid using drugs and alcohol in the future.
- If you encounter a reluctance to talk, enlist the aid of your child’s school guidance counselor, family physician, or a local drug treatment referral and assessment center. They may get a better response.
- Explore what could be going on in your child’s emotional or social life that might prompt drug use.
Take the time to discuss the problem openly with your child. Knowing that they can talk to you without fear of being turned away is an important first step on the road to recovery. It shows that your child’s well-being is crucial to you and that you still love him, although you hate what he’s doing to himself. But you should also show your love by being firm and enforcing whatever discipline your family has agreed upon for violating house rules. You should go over ways to regain the family’s trust such as calling in, spending evenings at home, and improving grades.
What You Can Do on Your Own to Stop Your Child from Drug Abuse
Start early in your child’s life to express your love, to talk frequently to your child, and to be supportive. These are vital ingredients in the prevention of drug abuse and, indeed, in the healthy development of every facet of your child’s life. Make sure your child knows you love them.
Courtesy of Momstell.
(Momstell is an organization whose mission is to promote awareness and eliminate the stigma of substance abuse through improving treatment, education, legislation, policy and prevention.)
