How I’m Helping My Children Be Drug Free

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of National Institute on Drug Abuse for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Kids are curious creatures. They explore life through much trial and error. Unfortunately, some of those trials include pushing their boundaries to see how far things can go without consequence. But sometimes consequences come with a heavy price, one that kids are not often prepared for. So today I want to share How I’m Helping My Children Be Drug Free. This is something I think is extremely important each and every parent does so their kids have the essential facts they need when that time of curiosity strikes. And believe me, it will come. How I'm Helping My CHILDREN Be Drug Free Have you ever heard the saying “curiosity killed the cat”? I am sure you have and that explains perfectly what I am about to talk about. You see, as I mentioned kids are curious. If yours aren’t particularly the curious type, they for sure have a friend, a cousin, or even an admirer, who is. All it takes is one curious kiddo in the bunch to make the rest of them curious too. It’s human nature to follow the crowd especially when something is seen as “cool”. Peer pressure is a real thing and a constant struggle for children (especially teens).

Drugs and alcohol often become something that all kids at some point in time, become curious about. And to be honest, it’s not something we should be surprised about. A quick turn on the TV and you are bound to find a show that contains drug and alcohol use. Part of the problem is that there are so many myths out there regarding drug and alcohol use and even more so since marijuana has been legalized in many states. As parents it is our job to debunk those myths and provide our children with accurate drug and alcohol facts which is key to getting them to make better choices even when pressure among peers.

So how exactly can we do that? I am so glad you asked! For starters, we need to educate ourselves! We need to have accurate information so we become a trustworthy resource to our children. The National Institute on Drug Abuse’s “NIDA for Teens” website was created for middle and high school students and their teachers, and provides accurate and timely information for use in and out of the classroom. It provides facts relating to drugs and alcohol and helps set things straight. It’s also a great resource for parents. Did you know that males are much more likely to die from a cocaine overdose than females? Or that sudden death can occur on the first use of cocaine or soon after? If you answered no, don’t worry because I didn’t know that either. That is just one prime example of information we need to be teaching our children and we need to start now! Instead of sheltering our children and worrying that we are exposing them to things they shouldn’t know about, we need to assume they already know about it and be a trusted resource for information. Now is actually the best time to start talking with your children because January 25-31, 2016 is recognized as National Drug & Alcohol Facts Week. It is an annual, week-long observance that brings together teens and scientific experts to SHATTER THE MYTHS about substance use and addiction.

They even have a National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge which allows you and your children to see how much you really know about drugs and alcohol. I took the quiz and was surprised I only got 7/12 correct which was 58%.

So what are you waiting for? Talk to your children about the dangers of drug and alcohol use. Build a trusting relationship and knock that curiosity right out of your child’s head. In the end, you will be helping your children be drug free.

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