Tween & Teen

In the movie Almost Famous, an early 1970s suburban mom played by Frances McDormand drops her teenage son off at a rock concert. As he walks away from the car, the mother, unable to contain her uneasiness, yells out, “Don’t take drugs” much to the amusement of the hippies streaming into the show.

McDormand’s character gives voice to a fear that has perched unspoken on the tongues of many parents, one that I started thinking about when my first child, Riley, was little. Were there ways we could equip him to navigate the perils of drugs without driving him underground?

The short answer is yes. And the sooner you start, the better. Here’s a look at some ways to do just that.

Preschoolers (0–5)
Laying the foundation

Heather Clark, a research and policy analyst with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, says that with young children, the key is to build a sense of belonging and connectedness in the family. “We focus on the parent-child relationship, rather than teaching young children about the dangers of drugs,” she says. That’s not to say good parenting “inoculates” against substance abuse. But kids who have strong relationships with their parents do tend to get into less trouble with drugs and alcohol. And while that’s true for all age groups, the foundation is built in the preschool years.

Still, there is one drug lesson you can start teaching your preschooler: Drugs can be either good or bad for you, depending on how they are used. Legal, prescription and over-the-counter drugs come with risks, and kids need to understand that while medicine can help them when they’re sick, it can also hurt them if taken in the wrong amount or at the wrong time. Simple steps, such as locking medications in an out-of-reach cabinet and telling children never to take medicine on their own, send the message early on that drugs are not to be trifled with. It doesn’t have to be a “let’s sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk” thing; short conversations, in the context of someone in the family taking a medication appropriately, can be very effective.

Originally published in Today's Parent, May 2009