Can we protect our Children from Drugs?
When and How should we talk to our children
about the dangers of drugs?
In an ideal world drugs would not exist and we wouldn’t have to worry about talking to kids about drugs. Unfortunately drugs are readily available in more places than we care to imagine in many forms including legal highs which can be purchased from legitimate stores.
We hope that our children will be educated at school about the dangers of drugs and we as parents can talk to them and explain about different drugs including the dangers they can have even just by taking drugs once.
I speak very openly with my son’s about most things and I have spoken with them in detail about drugs and the effects that they can have on you. I have especially focused on ecstasy (at this time) and how even if your friend takes one and appears fine, It can react differently to different people (According to studies).
See the study report on ecstasy here
Only this Morning ,I heard the sad news of the 16-year-old school boy Daniel Spargo-Mabbs, who died after taking ecstasy for the first time. Even though we can not force our children to choose the right path in life and avoid taking drugs, we can give them the tools to hopefully make the right decisions and above all be confident and informed enough to say No to peer pressure.
Daniel Spargo-Mabbs story here
Be open with your child and talk
I for one as a parent will talk to my two boys tonight and tell them the devastating news of this young school boy, I will not preach, I will just discuss with them the dangers of even trying it once. I will include my 11-year-old in this conversation as I feel he is at the right age to be informed of the dangers of drugs now that he is in high school.
As your kids grow older, you can begin conversations with them by asking them what they think about drugs. This can be done by simply asking key questions like “HAVE YOU EVER BEEN OFFERED DRUGS ?” and “WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT DRUGS ?” I always try to ask questions in a non-judgemental way allowing them to speak and have their honest opinion on the topic. I know my children are very responsive to being spoken and even better at giving their views which are generally strong and most of all honest.
My Children ages are 11 and 17 years old and both will talk openly to me and my husband about even the toughest of topics.I feel by speaking to my children in this way leaves the conversation fluent and allows them to come back with questions at any time they feel it necessary (This way i don’t feel as though I am preaching at them).
I will answer any questions they have during our conversation and hopefully I will know the correct thing to say to them and if I do not know the answer, I will find it out for them through researching at the library or by using google or even speaking to my G.P.
I do believe Parents should also be taught drug awareness in school as there are so many new drugs out with new names that I am unaware of and would not know the signs to look for in someone who has taken certain drugs. I need to be more up to date with the drugs that are out there now.
Why Do I Worry? (Here is a little story)
My son who was actually 16-year-old at the time was actually offered drugs on his first day at college. This took place a few hundred yards away from the college itself, whilst in company with his tutors (Can you believe that I would say to these people get some morals). Two men were walking alongside my son and his friend whilst they walked slightly behind the rest of the college group who were heading to a local art gallery to research for a project. One of these males approached my son and asked him if he smoked, My son replied “NO” the male then asked him if he wanted any ‘BERRIES’ and my son said “NO” again. Now after being sensible told “NO” by my son the male clenched his fist and tapped my sons knuckles stating “RESPECT MAN”. The male then walked away and left my son and his friend alone Thankfully.
My Upset
BERRIES is a new drug that I know nothing about, I was outraged and shocked to say the least. I can’t believe people (or these drugs dealers) are out there willing to offer drugs to minors never mind anyone else.
I was very happy that my son felt comfortable enough to tell me about it, I stayed calm and didn’t over react even though inside I was raged that this could happen on my son’s first day of real independence. If i would have gone over the top and gone on and on about it he would have never talked to me about anything in the future (I mean would you tell your mum if she harped on about a subject, I know I wouldn’t have).
I strongly believe that friends that take drugs and new friends they meet in college or work can have a big influence over your childs future if you don’t help continue to guide them. Look out for any changes in your Teens personality, asking for more money than usual, or changes to the way they act although can be innocent can also be something to monitor.
No parent, child, or family is immune to the effects of drugs. Some of the best kids can end up in trouble, even when they have made an effort to avoid it and even when they have been given the proper guidance from their parents.
All I can do is hope and trust my children to behave themselves and make the right decisions in life…….. Its just a shame we as parents have to worry about external influences affecting our children’s lives.
If you would like to know more about drugs and street slang I have found the following list to help you determine any new words you may not recognise.
Drugs Street Slang List UK by the telegraph
I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject and please feel free to share your stories, opinions and views on the subject below. Likewise if you have any tips you feel may help any other parent please pass let us know.
Absolutely terrifies me that Luv will face these choices one day, I have seen first hand what drugs did to someone I knew, it completely strips them of any identity. I will be as honest as I can and hope she has the sense to steer clear. Scary thoughts.
Very interesting and well timed post. I agree, it’s important to foster a relationship with your kids that leads to open dialogue. It’s great that your son was able to tell you about the guys outside the college, my daughter is 5 and already I try to answer anything she throws at me and keep her aware of age appropriate dangers (not drugs yet, but road awareness, stranger danger etc for the moment). I hope when she’s older she’ll take on board what I have to say about drug awareness too.
That’s an awful story. Unfortunately we can’t wrap up our kids in cotton wool even though I wish we could. You have obviously brought up your son well to refuse these drugs and to talk to you about it.
Is a hard subject should not be but it is ,not got a clue what to say to mine but got lots of time to sort it out .x
amamzing post hun thansk for sharing this excellent blog, we should be making our children aware at all ages its imprtant especially when they are soo vulnerable and they drugs are soo easily accessable these days , its scary x
this really scares me about the dangers of drugs and perhaps our children experimenting .we most make sure we talk to our children about the dangers and also keep up to speed with all the info ourselves
I am a little naive when it comes to drugs and not really educated myself enough about them. I would love schools/doctors to run classes for the Parents to teach us about what drugs are out there now and what to look out for. Thanks for the message x
totally agree we should and the goverment should be more helpful with adverts and paperwork
I’ve not heard of Berries either and when it comes to drugs yes I worry but as a parent there are so many things to worry about & teenage children don’t want to talk about stuff like this with their parents. You have to trust that your son/daughter will have the sense to know the consequences.
Very interesting and helpful blog thankyou. It is such a worry, especially living in London where so many young people are using drugs. Fortunately my teenage daughters are completely anti drugs, and girls especially want to preserve their looks nowadays so it puts them off, in contrast to my youth where it seems cool to abuse your body.
I am very open with my children and thankfully we have a really great relationship where they can come and talk to me about anything, quite openly and without any embarrasment or worry about being judged. We have always openly discussed drugs with the older children, and thankfully, both my eldest children are very sensible and mature and are extremely anti-drugs.
I haven’t heard of “Berries” as drugs. I think it is important to be open, honest and talk across to kids. They are people and deserve Respect. Drug Misuse can be so dangerous. It is an ISSUE that Government needs to tackle in order to Protect the Public.
I think this an important subject to raise with your children. I always warned them that drugs are dangerous and make people do crazy and stupid things.
Drugs are dangerous and you should be always warning them regarding drugs and the dangers they impose. Thank you for commenting Rachel xx
Never heard of berries either .. but I agree that we should take the threat of danger seriously and have open dialogue with our kids about drugs
I had never heard of Berries until this incident, It just shows you how these drug dealers will do anything to make drugs sound appealing and acceptable. Thank you for commenting Rachel xx
Hmmmm mmm I’ve never heard of a drug named berries but with all the black market for it, I can imagine new names will pop up. My kids attended a zero tolerance school and had assemblies about drugs. I wish kids would learn how dangerous they really are. RIP Daniel and condolences to his family.
My biggest fear of my eldest moving from juniors to seniors last year was that transition from a small school to a huge world with all different people from different backgrounds and it terrified me. I haven’t had the ‘talk’ yet but as he moves in to teenage years it is something I know I will have to face and it’s so sad. I just want to keep him protected but I know I can’t be with him 24/7 so I will have to trust him. #GoldenOldies
It is great that you have such an open relationship with your son and he is able to talk to you about these things. It is so important for us to discuss these issues with our children. i hope my children will feel they are able to talk to me about this kind of thing in the future.
#retroblogposts