Having ‘The Addiction Talk’ With Your Kids

  Did you know that nearly 21 million Americans over the age of 12 deal are caught up with addictions? That means that kids as young as 13 are facing serious issues with alcoholism and drug abuse. As a parent it may be easy to tell if a pre-teen in your family is struggling, but then question the becomes: How Do You Start That Delicate Conversation?   To their credit, The Huffington Post recently acknowledged this all too common issue and published a helpful article that outlines the ways parents can approach their kids about this topic. Their checklist covered inquisitive approaches (to see if your child may be using) and educational explorations (so they are aware of the substances and the dangers).   Step one involves openness and honesty.  “Kids are much more savvy today,” HuffPo addiction expert John Sovec explained in the article. “And open, honest conversations that take place now can set up the groundwork for keeping substances out of their future.”   That type of honesty may include revealing hard truths about your own past experiences with drugs and alcohol. Sovec added that today’s kids (particularly of the teen set) expect honest answers and don’t like to see their parents lie to them. If you deny experimenting in your younger years, that may actually backfire on you.   Scare tactics are also a no-no, according to the article. If they hear something like drinking beer will get you life in prison, they can easily fact check it and discover it’s a falsehood. At that point, your credibility may be hurt and actual scary stats (about overdoses and relapses) could have less of an impact.   In the same vein, Sovec emphasizes that addiction does not need to be vilified for teens. It is important to acknowledge that it is a disease and that not all people who use are evil.  
“It’s important to emphasize that if someone is addicted, that doesn’t make them a bad person. It means they’re sick,” he added. “Let them know that addiction is an disease, and though it may be tricky to recover from it, people can and do get better. They just need good doctors and support to treat it.”
  Having this difficult conversation is something we, at Inneractions, have had to do many times and we are definitely available as a support system for parents who think their kids may using. Just know that a gentle touch is always recommended and recovery is a reality at any age.

New Teen Addiction Trends Identified

The teenage years have often been thought of as a time of experimentation and, tragically for many, the first introduction into addiction. In decades past, alcohol, marijuana and hallucinogens have been the substances of choice. But, a new study is highlighting some interesting changes within that sect. According to data released by USA Today, popular drugs from years’ past are declining in popularity with high schoolers, while other new dependencies are on the rise.

Gathered by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the research included survey answers from nearly 15,000 students and covered a wide variety of topics. Beyond addiction, there were new stats related to bullying, “coming out” and sexual activity. CDC director Kathleen Ethier found a lot of the data encouraging, but honed in on a few new dangerous findings.

“We are seeing real improvements in some areas, but real concerns in others,” she explained. “But ultimately, schools, communities and parents do need to create more places where students feel safe and connected.”

On the positive side, pre-teen sexual intercourse has declined by 54 percent since 1991. Condom use has become prominent during this era as well, potentially limiting the amount of teenage STDs. The study also found that suicidal thoughts were down, declining 29 percent over the last 20 years.

Now as far as addiction goes, there were both good and bad stats to come out of the research. One encouraging find was that cocaine, heroin, inhalant, methamphetamine and ecstasy use was down by 23 percent over the past 10 years.

The negative news was related to (no surprise) opioid and prescription painkiller use. Coinciding with the devastating crisis impacting this country, the CDC findings concluded that pill abuse, such as Vicodin, Percocet and OxyContin, was up by 14 percent. This proved to be a very concerning stat to Ethier.

“Opioid use among teens appears to be quite substantial,” she added.  “There is no doubt about it. It’s high – we didn’t expect it to be that high.”

And one other important caveat to all of this information deals with who they surveyed. Keep in mind that these were active students, not young people who may have dropped out or fallen off the grid. Certainly when you take those numbers into account, you’d expect to see much higher activity on the addiction front.

We certainly know that addictions can be devastating at any age. If there is a young person in your family who may be facing a serious issue, please reach and get them help.