Catching Your Child With Drugs

Catching your child with drugs can be devastating to a parent or family. Feelings of intense disappointment and anger may surface. If that happens, give yourself time to cool off before you talk to your child. You might want to consult with an expert, but one of the first steps is to tell your child that you do not approve of substance use or possession. Consider talking about the impact of their actions and the results of bad choices (such as addiction, criminal activity, etc.). Although your teen may deny the consequences will happen to him or her, no addict ever started using drugs with the intention of becoming addicted. Here are some suggestions for addressing substance use:

• Seek professional help from your child’s physician or counselor – Allow the experts to help you facilitate communication and determine the next step for your teen;
• Inform school principal (if it involves other students) – Keeping your school principal in the loop can help the school to eliminate unlawful activity and address drug use on campus;
• Inform other parents – You would want to know, and so do other parents. Being part of the
  authoritative community of neighbors, extended family, school and community, you are helping your community to be a better, more healthful place to live;
• Suspend allowance or other drug-funding opportunities – Give your kids one less resource to access substances;
• Read and discuss information about the harmful effects of drugs, alcohol and other substances – Education and knowledge are your greatest tools.