A Parent's Guide to Talking to Children About Drugs and Alcohol

The world has many dangers that children will someday face, so it’s important to equip them with the knowledge they will need to make good decisions. One important point to cover with children is the importance of saying no to drugs and alcohol, but “just say no” isn’t enough: Parents should teach kids age-appropriate information about what these substances are and why they’re dangerous. It’s important to start this conversation as soon as a teachable moment presents itself, which will open up a dialogue that you should work to keep open into their adult years. By building a solid foundation of facts and parental support, you’ll be giving them the tools they need to avoid temptation and stay healthy and safe.

Types of Drugs

Cigarettes

Smoking is far less popular than it once was, but nicotine addiction is still a threat to people’s health. Smoking cigarettes can cause lung cancer and other lung diseases as well as heart disease and stroke.

• Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking: Smoking is the top cause of preventable deaths in America today.
• What’s in a Cigarette? Check out the long list of dangerous chemicals packed into those little sticks.
• Cigarette Facts: At least 70 of the chemicals in cigarettes cause cancer.
• Types of Tobacco Products: Smoking cigarettes is the most common way to use tobacco, but it also comes in cigars and in loose form for use in pipes and hookahs.

Marijuana

An increasing number of states have legalized marijuana for adult recreational use, making this drug easier to find than ever. It’s less likely that you’ll get addicted to marijuana than to any other type of drug, but it can still harm a user’s brain development and mental health. If you smoke marijuana, it also causes lung damage. Getting high on marijuana can also impair your ability to drive and harm your social relationships.

• Marijuana Drug Facts: Learn about how marijuana is used and how it can affect your body.
• Know the Risks of Marijuana: Just because it’s the most frequently used illegal drug in America doesn’t mean that it’s safe.
• Facts About Marijuana: This drug is most commonly smoked but can also be consumed in other ways.
• How Pot Affects Your Mind and Body: Marijuana can have medical uses, but it can also affect your mental health or cause physical damage throughout the body.

Alcohol

You must be at least 21 to legally drink alcohol, and this law is in place for good reasons. Being drunk might seem like a little short-term fun, but the dangerous health effects can include a range of chronic illnesses, including liver disease, stroke, heart disease, and cancer. There’s also the danger that comes with making bad decisions because your judgment is impaired by alcohol. And driving while drunk can be a deadly combination.

• Alcohol and Your Health: Many adults drink moderately from time to time, but the more you drink, the more dangerous it can be.
• Alcohol for Teens: This resource provides a good overview of what alcohol is, how it affects the body, and why it should be avoided.
• How Alcohol Affects Your Health: Explore the short-term and long-term effects of alcohol abuse.
• Even a Little Alcohol Can Harm Your Health: Moderate alcohol consumption can still cause chronic health issues over time.

Cocaine

Cocaine is a powerful and highly addictive drug most commonly found as a white powder. It makes you feel awake and energized, but this effect comes at the expense of your heart health. Using cocaine can cause heart attacks, strokes, and seizures as well as headaches and losing your ability to smell.

• Cocaine Abuse and Addiction: What is cocaine, and what can it do? Get the facts about this dangerous drug here.
• Cocaine: Read a detailed profile of this drug and its illicit use compiled by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
• Cocaine and Crack: No matter which form of the drug you use, it will have similar effects, including physical addiction and higher blood pressure.
• Get Smart About Cocaine: Learn what cocaine looks like and what paraphernalia may accompany its use.

Heroin

Heroin is an incredibly powerful drug that can be smoked, snorted, or injected. It can induce a dream-like high, but it also slows down your breathing and your heart rate. It’s very addictive, and taking too much can easily kill you.

• Heroin: What Parents Need to Know: Find out about the risks of using heroin and how you can prevent it.
• Heroin and its Dangers: This document covers the basics of what heroin is and what it can do to the body. It also includes signs to look for that could signal an overdose.
• What You Need to Know About Heroin: You might think of heroin as something adults use alone in an alley, but these days, users could be anyone, including middle-class kids in the suburbs.
• Heroin’s Past and Present: Learn about the history of this drug and how it affects users today.

Opioids

Heroin is a type of opioid, but there are also many others, some of which are legally prescribed for medical conditions. They’re strong painkillers, which can make them addictive. If they’re not used properly, prescription opioids can cause the same negative effects as heroin.

• Chasing the Dragon: The Life of an Opiate Addict : This documentary focuses on the stories of teens and young adults who got addicted to opioids.
• Opioids: Find out more about what opioids are and how to spot symptoms of an addiction.
• What Are Opioids? Opioids are highly effective pain relievers when used correctly, but they’re also highly addictive.
• Why Are Opioids Dangerous? At high doses, these drugs can slow or stop your breathing and heartbeat.

Meth

Methamphetamine, or meth, is an addictive stimulant that makes users feel euphoric. It can raise your heart rate and blood pressure to dangerous or deadly levels, and it can also cause anxiety, aggression, paranoia, and hallucinations. Repeated use can cause permanent brain damage as well as heart attacks and strokes.

• The Meth Epidemic : This PBS documentary explores how meth first swept across the country.
• What Is Methamphetamine? Meth is a stronger cousin of amphetamine that can cause many negative health effects, including seizures, psychosis, and death.
• Meth and How It’s Made: Meth is often made in home labs, a process that introduces its own dangers to the mix. Making meth can involve explosive and corrosive chemicals, and the results can create toxic waste.
• Methamphetamine Abuse: A Perfect Storm of Complications: A detailed research paper digs into the background of the meth epidemic and the effects it has caused.

How Drugs Harm a Person’s Health

All illegal and age-restricted drugs can cause serious damage to a person’s health, affecting internal organs like the heart, lungs, and brain. These effects can be compounded in young people, whose bodies and brains are still developing. The method of using these addictive substances can also be harmful; for instance, using intravenous drugs raises the risk of communicable diseases like hepatitis and HIV. And the impaired state caused by using drugs can lead the user to make risky decisions that have far-reaching effects on their health.

• Hepatitis C in Drug Users: A Hidden Danger of the Opioid Epidemic: Injecting illegal drugs can spread blood-borne illnesses like hepatitis.
• Consequences of Youth Substance Abuse: Using drugs or alcohol can lead to things like car accidents, transmission of HIV, and suicide.

Saying No to Drugs

It’s important for kids to say no to drugs to protect their health and their future, but it’s not always easy to do. Peer pressure can be a strong motivator for kids, who may struggle to find where they fit in and be eager to feel a sense of belonging to a group, even if that group has ideas that run counter to their beliefs. That’s why it’s crucial to help your kids learn ways to say no when someone offers them drugs or alcohol. Learning and practicing different strategies for getting out of the situation without compromising their health and safety gives them valuable tools that they can use and build on for the rest of their life.

• How to Say No to Drinking and Drugs: Teens should have a variety of strategies to help them avoid drinking or using drugs in social situations.
• How to Handle Peer Pressure: It’s important to know how to assert yourself when someone tries to pressure you into doing something, whether it’s doing drugs, having sex, or helping someone cheat on a test.

Further Reading

• How to Talk to Your Teen About Substance Use: Establish clear rules for acceptable behavior surrounding drinking, drugs, and potentially risky situations.
• Drug Abuse Prevention Starts With Parents: You have more power than anyone else to shape your child’s attitudes and behavior.
• A Parent’s Role in Substance Use Prevention: Find tips for how to talk to your child about drugs and alcohol.
• Teens and Drugs: Five Tips for Talking With Your Kids: Follow these rules to have a more open and productive conversation with your teen about drugs.