Protecting Your Child from Drugs and Alcohol

Protecting Your Child from Drugs and Alcohol
By Mary Jane Rotheram, Ph.D.
June 30, 2011

Parents know that as their child becomes an adolescent, his or her attitude about health and behavior becomes more influenced by peers. However, the parents and the family remain the most important factors in protecting teens from drug and alcohol use.¹ At this age, the parents of adolescents often take on a more managerial and advisory role. The parents’ expectations and discipline becomes part of the adolescent’s decision making process, and these will inform his or her choices.² In households where parents communicate the health and disciplinary consequences of drug use, adolescents have significantly lower drug involvement.

For this reason it is important that kids learn from their parents a healthy and responsible approach to drug and alcohol use. Unfortunately, many children aren’t getting the message. While most parents report talking to their children about drugs, alcohol, and sex, many children do not hear it.³ Less than half (42%) of children report that their parents talked to them about drugs and provided them with information; 30% report that their parents hinted or suggested an anti-drug message but did not directly initiate a conversation; and 9% of parents have never brought up the issue.⁴

To make sure your children hear you when you talk about alcohol and other drugs, be clear and to the point. Set specific limits, rules, and expectations for your child. Children who know their parents’ attitudes and beliefs about alcohol are more likely to follow their parent’s rules and wishes.⁵

The natural tendency to ask children questions about what they are doing or what their beliefs and values are should be encouraged, because it increases the strength and quality of the parent-child bond.⁶ Children who have frequent bidirectional, positive conversations with their parents are less likely to use substances and are more likely to exhibit abstinence-based ideologies.⁷ “Youth in families that are conversational in nature (who are permitted to openly express their own thoughts) may develop increased psychological autonomy and self-regulation abilities leading to fewer problem behaviors in adolescence into emerging adulthood”.⁸

Monitoring and supervision are another important part of keeping adolescents from using drugs and alcohol and engaging in risky sexual behaviors. One study found that simply knowing what the adolescent is doing on Saturday nights is the greatest preventive factor of adolescent drug and alcohol use.⁹ Parents must be sure to monitor their children’s activities and establish a certain level of control and supervision, but they must be careful not to make control the hallmark of their parenting style. It is important for parents to balance monitoring and supervision with open communication and a supportive atmosphere.¹⁰

In addition to discussing and limiting the negative influences children are exposed to, it is important for parents to cultivate positive personal assets in their children and encourage involvement in positive activities. This includes adult (non-parent) role models, peer role models, family communication, group sports participation, religious activities, choosing good health practices, being involved in the community, having and pursuing future aspirations, and making responsible choices. In preventing alcohol consumption, the most important factors are peer role models, family communication, good health practices, and having future aspirations. Having any one of these assets means that a youth is two times more likely to report non-use of alcohol; youths with all four of these assets are four times as likely to report non-use of alcohol compared to youths with three or less.¹¹

Finally, the overall quality of family life is one of the most important protective factors in preventing drug and alcohol abuse. Children who have warm and supportive relationships with their parents are less likely to abuse alcohol. Parental support acts as a buffer for life stressors for the adolescent, short-circuiting a major reason for drug use.¹² This positive relationship facilitates communication about both parents’ and children’s questions and concerns about alcohol. Discussions about alcohol should be a continuing conversation where children feel comfortable coming to the parent for questions and continued support, rather than a one-time conversation.¹³