Is Your Teen or Tween Attending Pharm Parties?

Phishing for Pharming Info Without a Fight - For many parents today it seems like an uphill battle trying to keep their teens and tweens safe. Every day they are faced with dangers when they leave home. Traffic accidents, child molesters, bullying that can lead to severe hidden depression behaviors, just to name a few.But could you be unknowingly exposing them to danger before they even leave your house?

A new fad is sweeping through the teenage community. It is called Pharming. This is when these teens and tweens go through the medicine cabinets of every house they can. Yours, grandparents, aunts and uncles, even family friends. Then have what they call pharm parties. You can not attend unless you have some pilz .

These parties are extremely dangerous. The pills are jumbled together, and offered up as trail mix. More often than not they have no idea what they are taking, and mixing. Research shows the police reports of incidences regarding this trend are growing in numbers. Do a search of any of the Social Utility sites like My
Space and Face Book . Profiles are scattered with references to Pharm Parties and sometimes even photographs.

Jack Shafer of slate Magazine also shows up very prominently when researching this topic. He insist Pharming does not happen. Do not let his opinion lull you into thinking it is not a real problem.

Ever had the feeling your medicine cabinet looked just a little different ? When visiting others has your teen / tween ever come up momentarily missing ? Only to show up, innocently enough emerging from the master bathroom? Perhaps offering the excuse that the other bathroom was occupied?

Kids are under a lot of peer pressure to perform. If everyone else is going to be there, and they can not get in without contributing, do not be surprised at the lengths they will go to accessing medicine cabinets. The worst part is many of these kids don't think these drugs are dangerous. They are prescriptions, right?

Sign up as a member for those social utility networks, Just don't tell your teens / tweens, and don't use a name they will recognize. Look around and get familiar with their world. If you are lucky enough to know their screen name, you are in like flint. Fair warning though. Do not let them know you are looking. This means you can not be shocked at something you read in a daily journal, and then start in with How Dare You when they come in the door . You need to be subtle. If you normally go on line tell them you read an article about a similar situation. Opening up conversations in this way may gain you valuable information. At the very least an opportunity to point out the dangers of the activity in question. Whether it be pharming or underage drinking, or cutting, another not so hidden teen concern among parents.

As teens / tweens begin to envision adult hood around the corner they will start to test their wings in preparation for eventually leaving the nest. In the search for their identity often they will draw away from their parents in this phase. You find your offers to go places turned down and replaced with request to drop them off. Take heart you're not alone, many teens go through the phase where it just is not cool to be seen with mom and dad. It's okay to let them know you miss doing things with them and going places, but mom and dad, don't whine about it.

Try instead to use these drop off drives as time to talk about their day, schoolwork, friends, concerns. Maintaining communication is A very important aspect, that sometimes can be difficult to achieve. The more opportunities that you get to talk, Really just talk, no arguing or questioning, the easier it gets.

Get used to letting them choose what's on the radio, it is a good way to get an idea what they are listening to . If they can't DJ the radio they will most likely develop the habit of a headset and then you lose a valuable opportunity for to conversation.

When you do perform these drop offs, try to arrive a little early.Some times it can give you a chance to kind of scope out the crowd. Kids in front of malls with skateboards, sliding down rails, and knocking over garbage cans, etc. have been known to scatter when parents are spotted.

Step one to prevention . Make a check of your medicine cabinet , and secure dangerous prescriptions. These legal drugs can be as deadly as guns around
kids . Treat them with respect.

Jack Shafer "Down on the Pharm, Again: Debunking 'Pharm Parties' for the Third Time", Slate Magazine, March 25, 2008