Difficult conversations: How to talk to your teen about drugs
Talking to your teen about drugs is a difficult conversation but cannot be overlooked. Here are some ways you can address the topic.
Is your teen using drugs? Talking to your teen about their drug use is challenging, especially when you’re not sure where – or how – to start. Add your own disappointment, anger, and confusion into the mix, and the conversation is even harder to tackle.
We chat with Emma Maynard, Senior Lecturer in Education, for a few pointers that may assist parents of teens who have started experimenting with drugs:
Bring up the topic when you are both calm
Knowing your child is taking drugs is a gruelling experience, and expecting to keep calm all the time is an additional pressure you don’t need. But choosing when to talk can help. Choose to address the topic when you are both calm.
Don’t just talk, listen
This is not all about your teen taking drugs, it’s about the motivation for taking them. That motivation will be the biggest obstacle in changing your teen’s behaviour, so listen closely to why they are taking drugs.
Throw other things into the conversation
If this means avoiding the topic for a little while, do it. Do something different and light-hearted. Talk about something other than the drugs and any fall-out, such as poor behaviour or school issues. Having fun together is one of the best things we can do to boost resilience, especially when relationships come under strain. It’s also one of the first things we neglect to prioritise.
Don’t let things get heated
It’s important that you have a conversation that is constructive. Repeat, reflect, and shift the focus to dial down the temperature in those heated conversations. It takes huge effort – but in every strained situation, there will be glimmers of hope.
Remind your teen that you love them
Let your child see how much you care, and that your worries and actions are evidence of this. Recognise that drug-taking is a far greater issue than informed choice and control. If you can stay in this space, you will be able to keep hold of your continually evolving attachment bonds, providing the protection your child still needs.
