when you should start talking about drugs? - View Question

when you should start talking about drugs?

I was kind of surprise to talk to a mom that has a 4 and 6 years old, the kids are very sheltered and not exposed in any shape or form to drug but she already talks to them about the danger of it.

I tought I could wait until they are 9 or 10 to have a serious talk about it. My kids know sigarette smoking is bad because they saw at an exhibition a black lung which made an impression, however they really don't know anything about drugs.

Love to hear everyone's opinion.

See also: drugs

Written by Vero

Posted on 04/23/2009

See all posts by Vero

Answers:

I'm a newbie and first time father. Still I base my opinions on what I observed myself and friends doing and thinking while we grew up.

I think children are introduced to the "drugs are bad" thing very early through the television and schooling. However, I got the "drugs are bad" speech from my parents all the time and it never stopped me from experimenting.

Other friends had great family and strong religious backgrounds; aaaaand it didn't stop them.

I think rather than the "drugs are bad" speech...I am going to try to raise her to be very health concious. Of all the people I knew growing up, the only ones that did NOT experiment were the athletic kind; they all claimed to respect their body too much.

So, I will focus on health and having her respect her body so she will not want to try them at all.

As a child I remember thinking "don't do this" was a clear indication that I was missing out on something good.

posted by ted on 04/24/2009

You can pretty much blame the "war on drugs" for the drug epidemic. I remember getting speeches in elementary school about the dangers of drugs and during these speeches they always described the effects of the drugs. For instance, they would say something like "cocaine makes you feel invincible" and then they would follow it with something scary like "you will ram your head into a wall." The truth is when you are a kid you pretty much only hear the first statement. So, I thought- WOW, who wouldn't want to feel invincible? Followed by, what kind of idiot would ram his head into a wall - I would never do that.

The scare tactics that schools, the DEA, and the police use to get kids to not use drugs simply do not work. Statistically, that is a fact. the main problem is that most of the information that is given to children is simply not true - not everyone who smokes crack gets addicted and according to research the "crack baby epidemic" could be attributed to lack of prenatal care and poor nutrition during pregnancy more so than consuming actual crack. Now, don't get me wrong- I would never condone smoking crack during pregnancy, I am simply illustrating the fact that the "war on drugs" is just a waste of money because this type of propaganda doesn't work.

Talking to your kids and drilling it into their heads from an early age will also not work. Your best bet is to maintain an open relationship with your children so that when they have questions, they come to you for answers. I don't mean you have to be their best friends but you have to have a relationship built on respect and trust and you simply cannot get that by lying to them and over exaggerating the dangers of drugs.

I think you are right about waiting until your kids are older but don't be surprised when they come home from school sooner with "Say No to Drugs" brochures far sooner.

posted by Lola on 04/26/2009

I agree with you Vero. Cigarettes are probably the only thing that really young children would be aware of. I started talking to my children about drugs and the affects of them at about age 9. I discuss drugs and alcohol with my 12 year old son all the time now as I know there are kids his age that already are exposed to them, unfortunetly. :(
It's still a personal preference but I believe kids need to be aware of what's going on around them so they can make the right choices and a parents influence is huge!
Lori

posted by lj on 04/28/2009

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