It’s All Your Fault! What to Do If Your Teen Blames You for Their Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Posted on June 19, 2009

The signs are unmistakable – your teen comes home intoxicated or high from drugs and shows physical and mental signs of alcohol or drug abuse, or both. These include slurred speech, dizziness, clumsiness and unsteadiness, redness in the eyes, flushed face, numbness or tingling in extremities, sore or upset stomach, weight loss, and blackouts.

They’re also easily agitated, irritable, and angry and have a low threshold for violence. They may even weep excessively or have frequent emotional outbursts. They want to sleep all the time, or can’t sleep through the night without alcohol or pills. They start missing school or can’t keep up with their homework. Pretty soon, they just give up and spiral into even more drinking and drugs.

How to Protect Your Teen from Prescription Drug Abuse

Posted on June 13, 2009

With prescription medication abuse on the rise among adolescents, it is extremely important to take steps to help ensure your teen won’t fall into this dangerous behavior. Even if you think this could never happen to your teen, keep in mind that 19 percent of all teens have abused prescription drugs and there’s no guarantee it won’t happen in your family. You’ll want to start with your medicine cabinet because prescription drug abuse usually begins there.

1.) Monitor Medication. Nearly two-thirds of teens who have abused prescription medication have gotten it from friends and/or relatives, usually without their knowledge. Keep track of all your prescription medications, and make sure every family member’s prescriptions are kept in the same place so you can take inventory. This way you can easily notice if pills start disappearing. It’s also a good idea to talk to your teen’s friends’ parents about monitoring their own cabinets, as it’s likely that your teen will be over at their home and have access to the medicine cabinet.

2.) Dispose of Medication. Drugs that are no longer being used by anyone in the household are an easy way for teens to get their hands on medication without being caught. Keep track of all current medications and discard any that are no longer being used or are expired. Don’t just throw away the bottle, though; place the remaining pills in an opaque container with a secure lid and mix in something undesirable like coffee grounds, dirt, or cat litter. Then place the container in an opaque bag and discard.

3.) Secure Medication. As the medicine cabinet is the first place teens will look for prescription drugs, it’s a good idea to keep your medication in a less obvious, safer place. If you had a firearm in the house, you would lock that away—why not do the same with dangerous medications?

Parents with Violent Relationship Can Cause Mental Issues for Children

Posted on June 5, 2009

There is a saying that you are a product of your environment. Now, new research demonstrates how a person’s surroundings when growing up can impact their mental health later in life.

Science Daily recently released a report that showed those individuals with parents who were violent to each other are more likely to have mental health problems later on. The exposure to violence experienced by the child acts as a form of maltreatment with negative consequences on the development of the child.

Marijuana: What Parents Need to Know

Posted on June 1, 2009

Marijuana is the most frequently used illegal drug in the United States, and it is especially popular among adolescents. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, nearly 98 million Americans over the age of 12 have tried marijuana at least once, and 42.3% of 12th graders have tried marijuana at least once. It is extremely important for parents to talk about marijuana use with their children, especially since kids often try it at a young age. Talking to your children about drugs isn’t easy, but the information presented here should help.

End-of-the-Year Parties: Talking to Teens about Being Safe

Posted on May 29, 2009

Parties and celebrations abound as the school year nears it close, and your teen is undoubtedly going to attend at least some of them, including Prom and graduation parties. While you can’t be there to hold your child’s hand and ensure his or her safety, you can sit down with him or her and talk about playing it safe.

How to Talk to Your Parents about Getting Help

Posted on May 22, 2009

If you think or know that you have a problem with alcohol and/or drugs, your first step is to talk with your parents about getting help. But how do you really do that? For some teens, it’s just not that easy. Even if your relationship with your parents is normally good, this is a tough subject to approach them with. Maybe your home environment is already too tense because of tight finances, the loss of a job, illness or other reason. But there are ways for you to be able to talk to them.