How to Raise a Drug-Free Child

Encouraging your child to avoid drugs, alcohol and tobacco starts early on. The following general guidelines are from the U.S. Department of Education.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Yellow Pages
• Telephones

1. Start your mission by building strong bonds of trust and affection with your child and by teaching her to make strong, self-confident decisions.

2. Teach problem-solving skills early on, and reinforce your child's self-esteem whenever you can.

3. Discuss how things that can be "good" and "bad" for the body: mention favorite foods that are healthful, as well as substances found around the house that are not.

4. Explain that prescription medications are drugs that can help the person for whom they are meant, but can harm others.

5. Explain to your child what alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are. Talk about how they can interfere with the way the body works and cause lifelong health risks.

6. Introduce the idea of addiction: that drug use can become a very bad habit that is difficult to stop.

7. Brainstorm potential scenarios in which friends offer your child drugs, and rehearse possible responses or excuses.

8. Get to know your children's friends and their interests, as well as their friends' parents.

9. Help your child distinguish drug myths from realities, for instance, that marijuana is not harmful because it comes from a plant and is "all natural."

10. Praise and encourage your child whenever you can, especially when you note your child making decisions that are good for his or her body.

[DLessem]

on 8/17/2009 Another drug myth you should address is that illegal drugs are necessarily more dangerous than legal. Alcohol kills countless thousands of people every year, while marijuana doesn't. Obviously, you don't want your kid trying pot even once, but if he does it won't kill him or harm him. Even a single night of drinking, however, can be fatal.

[mattsaboy]

on 8/5/2009 Great article... Thanks

[berhan89]

on 7/27/2009 To raise a drug free child. To have a drug free child is to be open abut things not to be to careful. Expose your kids to the effects of a drug use . when you teach your kids be open and tale them if you have any personal experiences and also to tech your kids to be confident and not to be pressured to do things that they don’t want . Remember this it is best if your kids her this from you than someone else

[ashfeather]

on 5/27/2009 Thank you. Great topic. Great tips. Very knowlegable.

[sherryk9210]

on 4/16/2009 Thanks for bring awareness to issues involving drugs. I would like to share my article Awareness about Drinking and Driving..Please read it and join M.A.D.D to stop drinking and driving Thank you, Sherry