728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Discipline and Communication › Straight Talk

Straight Talk

Giving Your Kids the Facts About Drugs

By Tara Swords

Pages:  1  2  

Has your child ever had a drink? Smoked a joint? Has he ever tried cigarettes? Now that you've likely answered, "No," or, "I don't think so," or, "He's too young," ask yourself this: Why would he tell you if he had?

The Cold, Hard Facts
Parents, take note: The average first age at which a child tries alcohol is 11. The average first experimentation with marijuana comes just a year later at age 12. Whether or not these statistics startle you, they do or will affect you as a parent.

Although overall drug use in teens has declined since2001,a 2006survey by the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that14.9 percent of high school seniors, sophomores andeighth-graders reported using illicit drugs in the previous 30 days.Abuse of prescription drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin remains a concern, too, and has actually increased among eighth-graders since 2002, according to the survey.

Teenage alcohol use in the United States is even more common. Teenage drinking peaked in 1981, leveled off through 1993, but has since risen. According to a 2005 Monitoring the Future survey,three-fourths of high school seniors, more than two-thirds of sophomores and about two in every five eighth-graders have consumed alcohol. And 29 percent of seniors, 22 percent of sophomores and 11 percent of eighth-graders reported engaging in "binge" drinking within two weeks prior to the survey.

The reality is that drugs and alcohol are available to kids at a very young age. And when it comes to discouraging them from using, researchers suggest the best source is parents.

What You Can Do
According to Talking with Kids About Tough Issues, a national initiative by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Children Now, children whose parents communicate openly about drugs are less likely to use them. And the campaign urges parents to begin a dialogue early.

At age 4, Karen Cone-Uemura's daughter is well under the age group in which drug experimentation typically appears. But Karen is keeping the lines of communication open before her daughter ever reaches the age at which drug use could become a concern.

"The drugs we talk about are cigarettes, beer and wine the only ones she's been exposed to so far," Cone-Uemura says. "She's seen relatives smoke so we've talked about the perils of smoking. With alcohol, we talk about how a little is OK for grown-ups, but not for children."

Pages:  1  2  


Want to see more?