Teen Abuse Prevention

Because of psychological adulthood of older persons prevention is hard and requires a very strong authority position from you. Adults do what they want to do and you are not able to change their decisions easily. However, the problem of starting with abuse and addiction is especially important when touches young people. That's why the list below was written mainly for parents who want to prevent their children. It's very important to well understand what to do, say and how to react to keep our teenagers safe from abuses and addictions. Teenagers are especially prone to bad influences from their surroundings.

Yes. That's right. But children / teenagers who feel good about themselves are less prone to influences from the outside. In consequence they are less likely to try cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. These are very obvious statements. And intuitive. And as much as they are obvious - they are true and of a great importance.

Let your children know you love them. It's a matter of consequence and very complex thing. Talk to them and learn to listen with patience and attention. Encourage them. Tell you're proud of them. And honestly show that you are. You have to be honest to enjoy their confidence. Always criticize actions and mistakes gently – don't criticize child. Praise efforts and successes.

Helping your children to build their self-confidence always requires talking about lifestyle. Your child should always remembers things most of us got to know in adult life – what is real friendship? What does it mean to be individual? Remind your child about true and precious values. Tell him or her that a real friend won't care if he or she does not use tobacco, alcohol etc. You both have to talk about life values.

All of those is a right way in building self-confidence. Children and teens who feel good about themselves are independent and have no problems with saying no. They know that they don't have to do all that stuff their friends do to be liked and feel accepted in their small societies. The risk of nicotine abuse, drug abuse and in general substance abuse is small.

We were talking about self-confidence. It's complex thing and by the way I've touched few special aspects. Let's underline importance by pointing them out:

...and help to find some creative activities to reduce boredom.

Being honest is one of key aspects in enjoying confidence. And confidence is required to have an authority position. Of course you won't be an authority in some cases and what you say won't be taken seriously if you are not a good example. Would you like to take seriously a drunken guy delivering a speech about social mischievousness of alcohol abuse? Quite contrary. You'd rather find it funny or maybe plaintive. So if you really want to deserve to be an authority for your children:

Not only things you say are important. Sometimes I think that essential thing is what we do – our behavior is deeply observed by our children event if they don't talk about it and don't comment. In your opinion: what's more important – action or few words and twaddle?

I'd like to turn back for a moment and say that being honest – what I mentioned above – also means that you do not have to know everything. You are not supposed to be able to answer every question you hear. Honestly say I don't know if you really do. Make a promise of future help and...

Knowledge is power. To effectively prevent teen abuse you should know about sings, symptoms, types of abuse and addictions, health risk etc. Let's learn – that's one of the reasons why this site was created for. SubstanceAbuseInfo.com is here to help you in educating.

Sometimes you do all your best and it doesn't work. Your child is self-confident, he or she trusts you and know what you disapprove. Your child know how to say 'no', finds you as a good example and source of strong and clever values. And finally you find out that he or she abuses substances. Probably – because of pure curiosity.

Setting clear rules plays a crucial role. Your children have to know your opinion about abuse and addiction, have to know that you strongly criticize it. Tell them what happens if the rules are broken. And it is of course not about limiting freedom because most children expect strong, clear rules from their parents and find it totally natural. Clear rules have to be 'clear'. Repeat them. Don't change your mind frequently. Don't liberalize rules. Stick to them.

Probably there is nothing worse than parent who's afraid of talking with his/her children about serious things and problems. Talking with children is an activity that requires practice. Don't wait to talk with your children about abuse and addiction, about health and strong values. Such a conversation is not a holiday – make talks frequent enough to be able to inculcate ideas and good habits into your children by persistent but not importunate instructions. Let this talks be natural, let them be part of daily conversations.

When you see some worrisome signals and suspect that your child uses substances – don't ignore it and act immiedately. Talk, ask, listen. Don't be afraid – remember that child is a responsibility to its parents. Nervousness is not a good way to solve the problems – you want your child to talk, so stay calm and try to explain everything safely. Nip problems in the bud. Find professional help if needed. It's crucial to understand that time is a main factor in abuse and addiction matters.

And always keep your eyes open.

Let's learn more!

I'd like to recommend you special website Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy & Drug Free – Family Guide published by SAMHSA. Parents can find it at http://family.samhsa.gov.