How to Help Your Child Avoid Drugs and Alcohol at School

Peer pressure and teen influence are some of the reasons why your child might be exposed to drugs and alcohol at school. But there are many ways you can help him or her avoid this. Over the years, it has become clear that using harsh methods like scolding, threatening, and even hitting are not the only ways to prevent your child from taking harmful substances. In fact there are better options. Read on to find them out.

Helping your child avoid drugs in alcohol at school

Here are some helpful tips to ensure your child stays alcohol and drug free even when they are in school:

Discuss with your child about drug abuse

Instead of giving a long lecture on drug abuse, have a discussion with your child and seek out his/her views on drugs. Allowing them to talk about their opinion will help you know how they think about the drugs. It is possible they already know they have to abstain from these. If otherwise, discuss the reasons why they should not venture into drugs and alcohol. You can also talk about the media and peer influence and how to resist peer pressure.

Have rules

Have rules that set boundaries around drugs and alcohol. For instance you can have a rule like having your child leave a party where drugs and alcohol are used, staying away from friends who venture into drugs and alcohol, not riding with a drunk or high driver, and so on. If they happen to break any of these rules, ensure to enforce the consequences.

A good way to make the rules effective is to get your child in the decision-making process. Ask him or her what is the proper consequence for certain scenarios. This will make him/her more responsible and keep to the rules.

Know your child’s friends

Some children who venture into drugs and alcohol are influenced by friends. Know who your child’s friends are and what they do and ensure they are drugs and alcohol free. If you notice trends that tend towards alcohol and drug abuse, talk to your child about how to avoid such friends to prevent influence.

Educate your child on the consequences of drug and alcohol addiction

Given the inquisitive nature of kids, your child will most likely want to know why he/she should abstain from taking drugs and alcohol. Let them know about such consequences as exposure to mental stress and disorders like anxiety, depression, and mania. Other risks include exposure to unsafe sexual activities, poor judgement in social relations, and impaired driving.

Show him/her good examples

Children of parents who use drugs and alcohol are most likely to follow suit. One way to get your child to not venture is to abstain from them. But if you did use drugs, you can discuss with your child the lessons it taught you. If you abstain from drugs and alcohol, also tell them your reasons. Children learn a lot from examples.

Conclusion

Although your child does not use drugs or take alcohol, he or she may be exposed to it. To help your child avoid taking them you may consider talking to them about it, setting rules, discussing the consequences with him or her as well as showing good examples.