Parents want what is best for their children. They want them to succeed in school and to make the right friends. They want them to graduate school and then obtain a college degree. They want them to get married and start a family of their own. Overall, the dream of any parent is to raise a successful and well rounded individual out of their child. What do you do then, when your child gets mixed up in the wrong crowd and has been involved with drugs and alcohol? What do you do when your child is now struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction?
Be open with your child Too many parents are not open enough with their children. They may enforce strict parenting habits or attempt to keep them sheltered from the world. This does not always work. Children sometimes grow up, resenting the protection and then jump into drugs and alcohol. It is important to be open with your child about their addiction. You should discuss how it makes you feel, why they began using and how they currently feel about it.
Discuss stress coping habits with your child. Most people use drugs for the first time when they are teenagers. There were just over 2.8 million new users of illicit drugs in 2013, or about 7,800 new users per day. Over half (54.1%) were under 18 years of age. In today?s world, children are experiencing more pressures than ever. They are worried about friends, family and school. Helping your child find ways to cope with their daily stresses in a healthy way can prevent them from turning toward an alcohol addiction or a cocaine addiction.
Monitor prescription drug usage. Sometimes prescription drugs are the easiest substance for teenagers to gain access to. They may have been prescribed something like Oxycodone after an injury, or a family member may have extra pills lying around. As a parent, it is important to monitor these drugs. A medication that was used for pain relief can quickly turn into an Oxycodone addiction, requiring a visit to a drug treatment center. OxyContin generated over $45 million in sales for Purdue Pharma. 5 years later, by 2000, that number was at over $1.1 billion. This was an increase of over 2000% in just over 4 years.
Adderall is another commonly abused prescription drug. Almost 14 million monthly prescriptions were written for Adderall, to Americans between the ages of 20 to 39, in 2011. This is a greater than 2.5 fold increase over the 5.6 million scripts written just 4 years earlier.
Remove bad influences from your child?s life. A bad influence can be the start of an addiction for a teenager. Bad influences can also prevent drug treatment from being successful. A teenager may go through ibogaine detox, return to their same environment, and begin using all over again.
Provide them with the best drug treatment resources. Once an addiction has begun, it is necessary to treat it. The chances of your child successfully overcoming an addiction increases when you provide them with the best drug treatment resources and centers. They need the appropriate support system and information to overcome their addiction.
Parents struggle with decisions and treatment when they find out their child is dealing with an addiction. They may focus on blame, wondering why it happened. It is best to accept the addiction and learn to treat it. Parents can help with the treatment of their child?s addiction by being open and communicating, provide children with appropriate coping techniques, monitor prescription drug usage, control the child?s environment, and provide them with the best resources and drug treatment options.
