|
What is Your Role as a Parent to
Help Prevent Drug Abuse?
by Connie Limon
The drug
called Ecstasy/MDMA is just one
of several that children as
young as 8th graders are
abusing.
Ecstasy is a human-made drug
taken orally as a capsule or
tablet. The short-term effects
include feelings of mental
stimulation, emotional warmth,
enhanced sensory perception, and
increased physical
energy. Adverse health effects
can include nausea, chills,
sweating, teeth clenching,
muscle cramping,
and blurred vision.
If you suspect or find out your
child is actually abusing this
drug or is involved in any kind
of drug abuse what steps can you
take to help them overcome the
addictions?
A family-based prevention
program should include:
1. Enhanced family bonding and
relationships; 2. Education for
parents to learn parenting
skills; 3.
Developing, discussing and
enforcing family policies on
substance abuse; 4. Training in
drug education
and information.
What is family bonding?
Family bonding is the foundation
of the relationship between
parents and children. You can
strengthen
your family bonds through skills
training on parent
supportiveness of children,
parent-child
communication, and parental
involvement.
One of the cornerstones for drug
abuse prevention is parental
monitoring and supervision. As a
parent
you can enhance your parenting
skills with drug prevention
program training.
Benefits of participating in a
drug prevention program are:
* Being able to provide
consistent rules and discipline
for your child; * Ability to
talk to your
children about drugs; *
Techniques of how to monitor
your children's activities; *
Techniques of how
to get to know your children's
friends; * Techniques of how to
understand your children's
problems and
concerns; * And becoming
involved in their learning.
The importance of this
parent-child relationship
continues through adolescence
and beyond.
Below are some resources to help
you find drug prevention
programs:
* National Institute on Drug
Abuse (NIDA) * National
Institutes of Health (NIH) *
U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (DHHS)
* Center for Substance Abuse
Prevention (CSAP) * Substance
Abuse and
Mental Health Services
Administration (SAMHSA), DHHS
Phone: 301-443-9110 * Centers
for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC), DHHS
Phone: 404-639-3534 Phone:
800-311-3435 (toll-free) * Safe
and Drug-Free
Schools Program U.S. Department
of Education (DoE) Phone:
800-872-5327 (toll-free) * Drug
Enforcement
Administration (DEA) U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ)
Phone: 202-307-1000 * Knowledge
Exchange
Network, SAMHSA, DHHS Phone:
800-789-2647 (toll-free) *
National Clearinghouse for
Alcohol and Drug
Information (NCADI), SAMHSA,
DHHS Phone: 800-729-6686
(toll-free) * National Institute
on Alcohol
Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA),
NIH, DHHS Phone: 301-443-3860 *
National Institute of Mental
Health
(NIMH), NIH, DHHS Phone:
301-443-4513
As a parent you need to educate
yourself as much as possible
about drug abuse, stay in touch
with your
children's activities, and
listen to their problems and
concerns.
===============================================
Author: Connie Limon. Email:
connielimon@yahoo.com Visit
us at
http://www.selfimprovementbook1.com
and sign up for our
newsletters. Self Improvement
Book is a guide to information
about self improvement, personal
growth and self help tips. It is
an organized directory
referencing information in other
websites on the World Wide Web.
===============================================
|
