It’s a parent’s worst nightmare, but sometimes it just is unavoidable. Sometimes kids may fall in with a bad crowd and they may get into drugs. Parents have struggled with drug abuse in their children for centuries, but as long as a parent is dedicated and open with their child they will be able to pull their family through the crisis.
Keep Lines Of Communication Open
Your child is in danger, and the time for blame is over. Blaming your child at this point will only push them further away from you. You will need to keep communicating with your child that you love them, that you support them, and that you want to help them in the right ways. Tough love is sometimes necessary but that doesn’t mean being brutal or cold. Your child should know at every step of the process that you care about them above anything else and that you just want what’s best for them. This will encourage your child to be more honest and open with you.
Don’t Be An Enabler
While supporting your child emotionally is important, supporting your child’s habit is not. If you suspect your child is taking money and using it for drugs then you need to cut them off. You must absolutely have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to their addiction, because anything less will allow them to continue their drug use. It can be very difficult for a parent to put their foot down when their child is begging or pleading, but during those times it may be important to turn to your resources for support.
Seek Professional Help
There’s a lot of help for parents with children who are abusing drugs and a good parent will take advantage of all of them. This includes getting their children into therapy such as cognitive behavioral therapy ) and seeking support groups and therapy sessions for themselves. Professional help is important in not only getting your child clean and off drugs but also in isolating the problems that led them down such a dangerous path to begin with.
Consider A Scenery Change
Often children get into drugs because they’ve fallen into the wrong crowd. Changing neighborhoods can be extremely beneficial in keeping them clean once therapy has done its work. In the past many parents would use boarding schools for this, but if a parent does choose to do this they should research the boarding school thoroughly. Many recent years have discovered that these boarding schools were either abusive or neglectful of their students.
