Teen Parenting Help - Drugs & Alcohol
As your teens grow older, the ever looming presence of drugs and alcohol begin to take the forefront. Teens choose to use drugs and alcohol for a variety of reasons and in order to effectively help your teen deal with these issues; we first must understand why they choose to indulge.
The first and foremost reason that teens choose to try drugs and alcohol is because of peer pressure. People who do drugs and drink are automatically accepted into a group of other who use these substances. It instantly ignites a common interest with other people around school and can give teens something to talk about. I order to combat this it is important that your child is involved in plenty of extracurricular activities so they do not feel the need to add another conversation topic to their current collection.
The second reason that teens choose to do drugs is out of curiosity. We have to accept that drugs and alcohol are part of our culture and there is no way to shelter our teens from it. It is on T.V, in music, books, and often even a part of family traditions (wine with Christmas dinner?). Teens are often immersed with these substances yet are told highly contradictory opinions of them. Some people tell you that they are great while other will tell your teens that they are ABSOLUTELY wrong and they will die if they choose to indulge. With so much talk and hype it is natural for teens to want to find out the answer themselves.
The third and final reason hat teens often choose to consume drugs and alcohol is to seem older then they are. Teens are in an awkward phase in their life (they are between an adult and a child) and most teens want this awkward stage to be over and simply jump right into being an adult. Consuming alcohol in a teens mind makes them feel older and more mature (despite that when they drink it they act far less mature then they started out).
As a parent you need to decide what stand you wish to take on drugs and alcohol. Many parents have found it to be very successful to allow their teens to drink but only in their own home or a friend’s home (this can cut out drinking in dangerous places and lower the risk of injury). Many parents also offer to drive their teens to a party and home from a party when they know their teen is drinking (this can help eliminate drunken driving risks). Parents who exercise these practices or similar practices figure that if a teen is going to do it anyway, they should try and help their teen be responsible and safe.
Another possible stand is the no tolerance policy which involves parents completely disallowing drugs and alcohol whatsoever. Although this in theory sounds like a great plan it rarely works. This leads to rebellion and unnecessary tension between parents and teens. Teens need to discover who they are on their own and decide what they enjoy doing and gain life experience doing a variety of things.
To sum up, it is important that you and your teen reach a fair agreement on drugs and alcohol. Whether that agreement be fully allow drinking, allow drinking with restrictions, or completely disallow drinking is up to you and your teen.