How Am I Helping My Kids to Get High? House Hold Products and Your Children

My house contains a lot of things that can provide my children with a way to get high. Did you know that so does your home? Most parents do not realize that house hold products such as aerosol air fresheners, hairspray, oven cleaner and any product in an aerosol can, paint thinner, varnish remover and such can provide their child with a way to get high. Most people think of just spray paint when it comes to kids huffing. Well start looking at all household products as a potential way for your child to get high.

Don't think that your child will ever try huffing inhalants? Think again. According to the Inhalant.org and the Alliance of Consumer Education, 1 in 5 kids will have tried to get high by huffing inhalants by the 8^th grade. 1 in 5 kids, that is a very large number of children huffing household products for a high. So start assuming the worst and become educated on this growing crisis. Once you assume the worst and become educated you can start talking to your kids about the dangers and present them with facts to deter them from trying this deadly habit.

Learn the slang words for this form of drug abuse and you can understand what kids around you are talking about. Using inhalants to get high has many names among kids and teens. Not only does it have many slang names but each slang name refers to the way a person is using the inhalant to get high. So lets first educate ourselves on these slang words.

Huffing- When a kid is huffing an inhalant they will soak a rag with the substance and then will hold it to their nose or mouth and inhale the substance.

Sniffing- When a kid is sniffing an inhalant they will sniff the product mainly directly from the container. Although it is possible to sniff the product from a plastic bag.

Bagging- When a kid is bagging an inhalant they will spray the inhalant into a plastic bag and inhale the vapors that the substance emits out of the bag. Sometimes the person will place the plastic bag over their heads to breathe in the vapors.

No matter what form is used , the abuse of inhalants is very dangerous and can be deadly. Death can occur the first and only time a kid tries inhalants. This death from the first time is known as Sudden Sniffing Death Syndrome. Even when death does not come, the dangers to the brains cells is extremely high due to the fact that these chemicals deprive the brain of much needed oxygen. The brain is not the only part of the body that can be effected though. Kidney and liver damage can also occur from inhalant abuse.

Now that you know that your child can be at risk of trying inhalants and you have a better understanding of this problem, you need to talk with your kids. Most parents talk to their kids about not smoking, not drinking, not using illegal drugs but fail to talk with their kids about inhalants. Make sure that you include this form of drug abuse in all drug talks with your kids. With inhalants there is a very high risk of death from the first time trying it, so remember that unless you make sure to steer your child away from this, they many not get a second chance to learn from this mistake.

Having trouble knowing how to talk with your child about the dangers of inhalants? Ask them first if they have ever heard of kids using inhalants to get high with. Ask them how much they know about this. Then fill in the gaps on what they don't know. Just remember that when talking with your kids about the dangers of inhalants, that you need to do just that. Talk with them not to them. Let them speak and really listen to what they have to say also. When the conversation is a two way street it is much more effective.