What Do You Do and When?

One problem parents face once they think their child is abusing drugs is they dontknow how to approach their child. With the article I chose it helps the parents of addicted children once they see some signs.

A Guide to Action for Parents talks about the science of why children using drugs is harmful.to their still developing bodies. In one study done if a child that starts to drink before the age of fifteen they had a forty percent chance of alcoholism intheir adult future. one very strikingthing i read about the way adults may think today is even though their child may have tested with drugs such as marajuana some parents will say it's just experimentation because they once did it their selves. But in fact marajuana of today is much stronger than in the past and much more easy to get addicted to especially with the strong acceptance among teens of the drug.

There was also a very helpful sign and symptoms list on What parents should look for listed which were:
1.Negative changes in schoolwork or missing school and declining grades.
2.Increased secrecy about about possesions or activities.
3.Use of incense, room deodorant or perfume to hide smoke or chemical odors.
4.Subtle changes in conversations with friends (code words)
5.New friends
6.Clothing changes
7.Increase of borrowing money
8.Evidence of pipes or rolling papers.
9.Bottles of eye drops
10.New use of breath mints or mouthwash to cover up smell of alcohol.
11.Missing prescription drugs-especially narcotics and mood stabilizers

These are just a few of many more signs parents should look for in their children and when they do notice these signs parents should then know what to do and when. First things first for parents is to get as educated as possible on drug abuse and alcohol abuse. The next best thing you can do to help the child sit down and talk to them when all parties are calm and collected. The most important way to make sure you don't push your child away is to let them know you aren't angry but are there to help. Being the parent though you must make sure that the child knows there are rules in the house and they will be enforced if necessary. Always remember though that this is not a one time conversation but may need to have multiple attemps but make sure not to give up on your child.

Abuse, Abuse, and More Abuse

What I liked most about this article was the fact that it tied in with the material I had actually been learning in class. This article talked about how, throughout society, substance abuse intertwines with poverty and child abuse. I enjoyed that the article talked about substance abuse and poverty along with substance abuse and child abuse, and also provides some solutions to both.

The article made a very valid point that just because people are in poverty does not mean that they do drugs, but one reason they may be in poverty could be because of an addiction to drugs. This addiction will cause people to lose their jobs and lose their families. But a big misconception about people in poverty is that they all use drugs or have some type of substance abuse problem. I myself have lived in poverty my entire life with a single father but never because of drug addictions. That goes to show that just because a family lives in poverty does not necessarily mean there is a substance addiction that led to that family relying on government and state funds.

Another huge thing that this article talked about was just how much these substance abusers do more than abuse drugs but abuse their children as well and even mentally abuse themselves from these addictions. The fact that these drugs alter a person’s mind and mood shows most within their family first. If there are children involved they will be the first to get the wrath of their parent’s addictions especially if they are unable to get their addicton dose. According to the article, “children that grow up with an abusive addict for a parent are more likely to have poor self-image, self-destructive behaviors, hidden fear, and greater risk of substance abuse themselves someday”.

This can lead to a cycle that just like poverty happens every day, and unless there is some type of worldwide illegalization against these drugs and just completely banned there will always be a demand for these products which ultimately leads to the supply.

Problematic Parents

The article, Children of Addicted Parents, from hopenetworks.org, gives information and statistics about children living in homes with addicted parents. One interesting thing mentioned is that alcoholism and other drug addictions have been known to run in families. This is because children of addicted parents are at a higher risk for drug abuse than other children. This connection between a child’s drug use in relation to their parents’ drug use is because of genetic factors and because of the influences of the parents’ attitudes towards drug use.

Addicted parents are often unable to provide the structure and discipline needed by children. The children in these families are often surrounded by increased family conflict involving emotional or physical violence. Many of these children are taken away from their addicted parents and forced into foster care as a way to protect them. This detachment from their parents frequently results in symptoms of depression and anxiety and the children often have anger issues because they feel abandoned.

If a child stays in the home with addicted parents, they commonly experience greater physical and mental health problems which lead to higher health and welfare costs. These children also have high rates of behavior problems because they often “act out” for attention or end up addicted to drugs themselves because they were not taught to avoid drugs.

The article has many statistics to support its statements, but since statistics can easily be misleading, I did not include them. The article itself can be found in its entirety here.