Addiction Prevention Strategies for Parents

There are many articles about addiction: the causes, the symptoms and how to overcome the challenges. This article focuses on preventative measures. While it is certainly helpful to focus on overcoming these addictions, the hope is that more people will not need such services. Thus, addiction prevention is gaining more ground in the social service industry. The saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," is certainly applicable.

Risk Factors.

There are many risk factors to look for when attempting to offer prevention to children of a specific community. Low income, single parent families and socioeconomic status are three of the most commonly blamed risk factors. While I am not minimizing their impact, there are also other factors to look for. Other risk factors include: parental involvement, stress on the child, the child's overall emotional health, the child's ability to be influenced, family history, activity availability and the child's own personal values. Eliminating these risk factors will not guarantee that your child will not use drugs or even become addicted to them. But, it will lessen the probability of a long term addiction.

Lessening risk factors.

There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Well, not according to most Americans. We are a bit too individualistic for this concept. However, that village might make it easier. When a parent is not able to be as involved as he/she would like, it is a good idea to ask other family members to help. Parents should not be too proud to ask. And, honestly, despite all of the rhetoric that we hear about "child independence," children still need supervision.

Talk to your child.

This sounds quite easy, but it needs to be done on a daily basis. Don't be too tired to talk to your child. I might amend that statement to read: "Don't be too tired to listen to your child." Let's face it, teens are not going to take most parents' advice, no matter how we present it. However, listen to what they are saying. Although it might be difficult (and I speak from experience, here) limit your advice to the short and sweet. Then, know that your children probably won't take it and there is little that you can do about it. Peer influence is prominent in your child's life. But, continue to listen and gently advise your children. Don't forget to bring up issues such as sex, drugs, stress and all of the issues that teens want to talk about, even though they are not sure if they want to do it with their parents. You need to know what they are thinking. Try to understand how they are thinking and feeling. If they do tell you that they have used drugs, try not to either act surprised or switch to "friend mode." Both are not helpful. If you believe that your child is using, don't hesitate to get them to an addictions counselor. They might act nonchalant about it, but it is your duty as a parent to help them have the best mental and emotional health.

Find other activities.

Find things that your child likes to do. This won't eliminate the desire or availability to do drugs, just the time that he or she may spend doing them. Also, it might give them something else to focus on instead of the drug of choice. It is also helpful for you to find other groups of children who are not doing drugs and who are supervised. This might help your child feel comfortable with the situation.

Choices and consequences.

One of the most important things for your child to understand is the link between their choices and consequences. I have personally known many parents who have, (with their money, status or influence) eliminated the consequences of their children's bad choices. The children of lower social and economic status are bound to suffer the consequences. However, many privileged children are shielded from these consequences. Usually the child must experience the harsh reality in a much more dramatic way. This is not good for child, parent or society as a whole.

In conclusion, we all wish that we could make our children's decisions for them. We wish that we could shield them from their mistakes. But, we can't. We can not entirely prevent them from trying and using drugs. But, we can try to eliminate some of the risk factors that lead to such behaviors. While we may not be successful, if we don't try, failure is inevitable.