Statistically, a very large percentage of teenagers tend to abuse drugs at a very early age. By the time they are having their high school graduation, most teens are believed to have either taken alcohol or tried their hands in drugs and other substance abuse. As a parent, this may be a very difficult thing to come to terms with. This is because you know too well that they are going against your will as a parent, despite instilling good morals in them. Additionally, they are of course putting their health in harm’s way. You then begin to ask yourself question such as what am I supposed to do next? How long has this been going on? What now happens next? Well, much as this may be a very bitter pill to swallow, you need to look for a solution to the already existing problem in order to avoid making the situation worse. Discussed below are a number of steps you can take if your child is involved in drug abuse.
1. Seek Professional Help
As a parent, you should not wait for your child to become totally addicted before you can seek professional help. Professional help may be in the form of consulting a therapist or even taken them to a rehab facility. Depending on how bad the situation is, you may choose to do either of the two. If at all they are in it for say peer pressure, then you may take them to a therapist who will talk to them and help them learn how not to bend to negative pressure from their peers with regards drug abuse. However, if the situation is worse, you may take them to a facility such as Orlando rehab center. These facilities have programs that will be of great help to your child in helping them stop abusing drugs.
2. Seek Spiritual Intervention
Helping your child get involved with a faith-based program that is strong and that which will be of positive impact to them is very important. When your child gets involved in such programs they will get positive peer pressure. They will meet young people who are doing positive things that are of great impact to the society; hence they will have no time at all for doing drugs. Many churches offer these programs. Ensure your child plugs in one of these.
3. Create Adequate Time for them
Teenage hood may be a very sensitive stage ofTeenagehoods growth. Most teenagers tend to get involved in drugs because they feel neglected by their parents. As a matter of fact, they start getting in this behavior as a way of demanding recognition and attention. For this reason, if your child is already doing drugs, you may want to create some time for so that they feel loved and appreciated. With time, you will just notice that they are gradually quitting drugs.
4. Encourage them to be more Sporty
Getting involved in exercises and wellness fitness may be effective in helping your child do away with drugs. This is because they will help the child pre-occupy their minds and thus not have time for negative pressure from peers. It acts as a very good activity for them to pass time.
5. Remain Calm, Avoid Threatening them
In as much as you may be super agitated by the fact that your child is doing drugs, try as much as possible to remain calm about the whole thing. This is because lashing out at them may only work to make the situation far much worse. They may want to get back at you by even getting more into the drugs than they were initially. Also, threatening them is the last thing you want to do. Just talk to them calmly as you look for an amicable solution going forward.
Doing drugs is the last thing any parent wants to discover about their child. You may have brought up your child in the best possible way by instilling the right principles and morals in them, only to discover that they are doing drugs. Teenagers are the most prone to drug abuse. Following the guidelines discussed above will, however, help you greatly as you try and help your child deal with and conquer the menace of drug abuse.