Kids and drugs

clare_boy

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can offer advice on how to talk to kids about drugs. They usually run a mile when you try to bring up any 'adult' type conversation but I'm really worried about my 13-year-old hanging out with an older crowd.

Are there any good books/DVD's out there that might 'show them the light'?

Dades

I would suggest watching Requiem for a Dream. If that movie don't put you off doing drugs - nothing will!

13 is a tad young though. :pac:

silja

This is an American website, but quite good, both for parents and teens: http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/

Nevyn

My kids know about drugs, they are currently 11 and 8.
They know that anything that can change how your body works is a drug and there are drugs which are used when you are sick to help you get better that are medicines and you don't take them when you don't need them or they can damage your body.

The also know that some people take drugs or medicines for fun as the like the effects they can have on their body but not all the effects are good and they can damage their
bodies, liver, lungs, kidneys and brain and make you do stupid things.

I think you need to have a matter of fact series of talks with your 13 year old as much as possible, with her as I very much doubt that she knows nothing and you need to learn how much she already knows.

http://www.drugs.ie/parents_carers/prevention/

http://www.talktofrank.com/atoz.aspx

3hn2givr7mx1sc

I'm 15.. so dis mite help u a bit.. i've known about drugs since i was 12/13.. so chances are ur child already knows abou drugs in some form.. hope i helped ye der boss

Nevyn

baz2009 please don't use text speak on this site, thank you.

Crumble Froo

fair play, OP, my parents actually never talked to me about drugs, unless you count my dad mentioning that i smelt like the 70s when he picked me up from a mate's once :pac:

i know it's done over and over in schools. same with STDs. tbh, im not sure how effective they were. imo, kinda put a blanket 'evil' over them, without allowing any sort of leeway, which, when i was exposed to drugs, and people using them, it wasn't all lowlifes, or people acting crazy, or anything nuts like we'd been told would happen. from there, i started questioning it more and figured the best way to find out the truth was to try it. i think a balanced approach, with a vague form of tolerance (let's face it, if they do manage to **** up, you don't want them saying that they can't tell you, cos you'll KILL them if you knew they'd touched drugs) is possibly the best course, but of course, that will depend strongly on your own values and beliefs. as for age.. i know peeps in my school back when i went to school were smoking weed by the time they were in 2nd year, so never too soon to have the talk, i reckon.

i know my partner has a 16 year old he doesn't mind buying drinks for, and he knows that his kid does smoke week every now and then. he's told him he doesnt want him doing it any more than once a month, as it's bad for his brain development, and his son is quite aware that this house is a drug-free one.

clare_boy

Hi all....many thanks for all the considered responses. I'll certainly follow up on them all.

In the meantime, I found something with a Irish angle. You may remember a girl called Rachael Keogh from about two years ago. She was a major drug addict ho went public after failing to get help. She has a book out about her experiences, which I'm going to buy. If the cover is anything to go by (her arms were ravaged by use of needles) this should be the 'wake up' call my kids need.

kdak

hey just a word of warning- dont be too 'anti- drugs'.
yes you want to tell her that drugs are bad and she shouldnt do them but she also needs to learn what to do if she takes drugs and things go wrong.
like talk to her about what she knows about the way each drug is taken.
like ecstacy and water etc.
because the last thing you want is her taking a drug behind your back (causee you've told her not to) and then taking it the wrong way or something going wrong and not knowing what to do. cause she may not go to you if she knows you'll go mad.
tell her the risks involved with each of the drugs but also the good sides (if you tell her only the risks she'll be curious about the good effects and curiosity will lead to her experimenting)
hope this helps a bit. but its good you're thinking bout this kinda stuff!

challengemaster

Dades wrote: »

13 is a tad young though. :pac:

You'd be surprised how many are smoking, drinking, etc by that age. Hardly too young I think.

randylonghorn

kdak wrote: »

hey just a word of warning- dont be too 'anti- drugs'.

I'd add to that: educate yourself first, and be truthful and accurate in the information you give.

While ofc you don't want your kids doing any drugs, now or later, the reality is that some drugs are far more dangerous than others.

If you scaremonger as so many parents do (from the best of intentions) and your kids encounter someone smoking a joint (as they inevitably will at some stage) without any major immediate negative consequences, they will tend to discount everything you have told them.

challengemaster wrote: »

You'd be surprised how many are smoking, drinking, etc by that age. Hardly too young I think.

You and Thaed are right, even kids can handle a lot of info provided it's framed in an age-appropriate way.

And 13 isn't a kid these days, 13 is well into the teenage experience.

Dades

challengemaster wrote: »

You'd be surprised how many are smoking, drinking, etc by that age. Hardly too young I think.

Regarding Requiem for a Dream, leaving aside rampant drug-use, electro-shock treatment and amputations; possibly the frequent nudity and voyeuristic lesbian sex might push the envelope on what films to show your 13 yr old.

A Keane

Rachel Keogh was on Gerry Ryan show late last week. Heard a bit of it. Sounded like she was saying it like it is, so chances are the book would be the same. I got it in Easons but I haven't started it yet.

She's got a blog going btw, so maybe you could contact her directly.

*Goes off to google furiously*


And we're back:

http://rachaelkeogh.blogspot.com/2009/05/girl-with-arms.html#comments