As a parent, you want your child to grow up healthy and safe while making all the right choices. Therefore, it is imperative to monitor their activities and ensure your offspring isn’t involved with bad habits.
However, raising a child is hard work. Often you miss out on many red flags and find yourself unable to keep up with your kid’s routine. As your children grow older and set out to seek their identity, they may start challenging your authority as a parent and trying out substances harmful to them.
What begins as harmless curiosity morphs into a dependency that is hard to eliminate. Therefore, ensure your child finds their way back to being healthy and happy. Here’s what you need to do:
1. Get Your Child Professional Help
Substance abuse tends to latch on and is hard to let go of. If you feel your child has indulged in unwarranted chemicals, you should direct them to expert help. It’s easy to identify if your child has been using.
You will notice signs and symptoms, including redness in their eyes, slurred speech, and, in some cases, social withdrawal. You can best support your child by checking into a rehab facility and being with your offspring every step of the way.
While therapists and counselors need privacy, spending time with your child as they recover can help. If your child feels skeptical about going into rehab, talk to them about the benefits of inpatient and outpatient services.
Your talk can help remove the stigma surrounding rehabs, encouraging them to get timely service. You can visit the Delphi Health Group and walk them through the process of getting help. You can also name celebrities who checked into rehab to remind your offspring there is nothing shameful or wrong with seeking help.
2. Plan Your Conversation
Planning helps you approach the topic delicately. You are not all over the place, nor do you jump the guns with wild accusations. Your child needs to know that you are offering a safe space so they can openly discuss their struggles with you.
Remind your child the purpose of this conversation is not to punish them but help them get aware of what they’re potentially getting into. Start by giving your offspring a heads up. Tell them what you want to talk about and when.
This prevents them from getting defensive and offended by you. It will help if you outline the points you wish to raise, a relatable story if you also went through the same ordeal and how your child can conquer this situation.
3. Give Your Child A Chance To Speak
Conversations are a two-way street. You cannot simply talk and not allow your child to express their thoughts. Once you have concluded what you have to say, let them talk and listen. Don’t interrupt them when talking; let your offspring express themselves as openly as they want.
Maybe your child started doing substances out of peer pressure, perhaps they were bullied into it, or there is another underlying reason why they started. Your child may also question substance usage. Answer them to the best of your abilities and ensure you have research to back up statements. You can also share links to articles and interviews with former users to help your child form an opinion.
4. Lay Out The Ground Rules
By spelling out the ground rules, you inform your child of the boundaries you want them to respect. These include the consequences of breaking them. The purpose of these limits is to help your child calm down regarding substance abuse and understand you mean business.
This also removes any ambiguity in your kid’s mind, and they realize that the leeway they have to disobey you is minimal. However, give your child a grace period while laying out the restrictions. So, if your child slips up, accidentally uses, or finds it hard to adhere to your new rules, you give them space to adjust without punishing them.
At the same time, if your child is in an unsavory situation, like at a party where their friends are drunk, they can contact you to pick them up without you grounding them or scolding them. Gradually your child will find it easier to follow your rules and operate within the limits you set for them.
5. Monitor Your Tone
You shouldn’t expect your child to make changes overnight. There will be good days and bad days. As your child attempts to stop using substances or avoid friends who pressure them into starting again, it can be stressful for them.
You cannot raise your voice or yell at them when you feel disobeyed. While it’s natural to express disappointment, your anger will push your child further away from you. Use kind words, encourage them to come to you if they feel burdened, and express compassion. Your child learns from you. How you talk to them and the behavior you adopt around them will make a difference in their struggle to get better.
6. Never Glamorize Substance Abuse
While talking about substance abuse, never talk about it in a light and fond manner. Your tone should be curt and precise when you discuss your problems and reminds your child what you went through with your choice to use. Even if you used it back in the day, don’t get nostalgic about the past and make substance abuse sound like the best time of your life.
You can also talk to them about lost opportunities, such as colleges that want students with clear records, police officers that can raid underage parties and confiscate substances, and how an arrest because of substances stays with you through life. To drive your point home, show them images of criminals and cases of how a simple misuse led to tragic endings.
Final Thoughts
The thought of your child using chemicals is scary. However, sometimes you can’t control your offspring’s choices and only help them get better with time. If you feel your child is using too many substances, you must act. You can look into professional services like rehab centers and be with them as they try detoxing. It will help if you outline a conversation that would help your kid get a better perspective on the situation. Allow them the space to respond, and don’t invalidate their thoughts and opinions. Laying out rules and drawing restrictions can help your child operate in a set framework to help better. Watch how you talk, and don’t get aggravated as your child struggles. Finally, never make your child assume substance abuse is fun and easy to overcome based on your stories.
Hope these points come in handy. If you have any other points which has helped your kid or anyone you know overcome the use of substances, then do share them with us. It will benefit a lot of parents.
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