I'm just curious as to how you approach the drug issue with your children. What are your rules regarding them and at what age did you discuss them with your child? My mother never really mentioned it to me so I was left to draw my own conclusions (not the best technique).
My daughter is 5 yrs old and in kindergarden and they have already talked about how drugs are bad for you. It's a bit early to talk about drugs at the age of five, but I am glad that my daughter already says,"Drugs are bad for you." Yeah, I used to smoke weed ( a lot) and I have also enjoyed other "party favors" but I do not want my daughter to follow in my foot-steps. So, I will talk to her and her sister about the bad things that happen when you do drugs. I am her father not her friend, which is a HUGE problem with parenting today................. ~namaste~
Being a child of the nineties I've always grown up with drug scares popping up in the news. So my parents would discuss the topic as and when it became a current issue. Probably started when I was about eight, but can't remember. We also learnt stuff in school, which was perhaps slightly more informative. My parents are devoutly anti drugs.They would never let us do drugs, even smoking is out of the question. That's always been obvious. My mother is convinced that even one lungful of pot and I'll be selling myself for crack within the week. I know that's crap, but can't be bothered to argue it. Their policy works for my brother, he needs simple concrete rules. I've taken all the info and made my own decisions (have concluded drugs do more harm than good, and aren't for me.)
I think the best approach to the drug issue is to present them with facts. Not D.A.R.E. and government bullshit. It's been proven time and again that all of that is made up propaganda. Parents that feed into it are only fueling their fire. Despite what you do, it's going to happen. You might as well let them know the truth before they find it out themselves and then loose their respect for you for lying to them. This reasoning might seem stupid and immature to you older people here, but I kinda have first hand experience with this.
My parents never had a "talk" with me either; i had a short, general lecture, that i'm not sure was about drugs, sex, or both, lol; my dad's exact words were: "Don't ever let anyone talk you into anything you don't think is right," and that was it, haha. As you can guess, it didn't work the way he would have hoped (the sex and drugs were my idea!). I hope to create an environment for my kids in which they aren't afraid to ask questions, or share with me the choices they've made. Parents should be there to guide kids, not point and yell "no" constantly. I'll give them all the information i can BEFORE they make their decisions, and hope that if they choose to try whatever it is, they'll let me know, so i can do whatever i possibly can to make sure they are safe. It's not a popular method, but if they want to drink, do drugs, have sex...well, i hope they would at least do it at home, as much as i don't want to know it's happening, so that if something goes wrong, at least they aren't "out there" somewhere. With any luck, they'll rebel by doing the unexpected, try none of the above, and at worst, just sneak out to go to some science club or something, lol.
I would like to talk to my kids about smoking marijuana, esp cause we do, but I'm not sure what to say? Any suggestions?
Re:MagicMedicine I think the best approach to the drug issue is to present them with facts. Not D.A.R.E. and government bullshit. Agree in principle, but can't think where parents are going to get any other information. It's been proven time and again that all of that is made up propaganda. Parents that feed into it are only fueling their fire. Got anything to back that up? There is an element of propaganda in everything, however well intentioned. Obviously everyone will have a diffrent take on the subject. That's what makes it so hard to find these facts. Despite what you do, it's going to happen. You might as well let them know the truth before they find it out themselves and then loose their respect for you for lying to them. God, am I seriously the only teen in whole world who's never done drugs? LOL I don't think so. Lying isn't the right word for some of the info my parents have given. It was just misinformation present in an attempt to raise me well. Have the utmost respect for that. This reasoning might seem stupid and immature to you older people here, but I kinda have first hand experience with this. I'm only a year older than you (possibly less) we're just looking at this from a diffrent angle. Not trying to be a bitch, just in for a little debate.
Apaininyourbrain, Be very cautious on how open you are with your kids on your smoking. When I was a teenager, the first thing I did when I found out my parents smoked was run and tell my friends. Kids cannot keep secrets. I don't know how old your kids are, but imagine this worse-case scenario: You tell your kids you smoke, they tell their friends (bragging on how cool you are, of course!). Their friends then tell THEIR parents. The parents will 1. not let their kids hang out with your kids or 2. they will narc on you. This is red ribbon week at my daughter's school, she (5) hasn't asked me any questions yet, so we haven't really talked about it. I can't imagine they are telling them anything more than "drugs are bad" in kindergarten.
My parents talked to me about drugs when I was a child. I remember it scared the crap out of me. *lol* My kids are still very young (my oldest is just turning 5 years old and my twins are 18 months old) so I'm not too concerned about it yet. I'm really not sure when I should bring it up to be honest. I had figured maybe around 9 years old? I have no clue really. Geez, I don't even like thinking about it. I'm just going back to La-La Land where time lasts an eternity and it will be a long, long while before I have to worry about having those types of talk. *lol*
specking as a child of parents who smoked weed and ocasionaly did other things. It is very scarry for children, I have known my whole life that my parents did drugs. It was never really hid in the household. And all through out my childhood I was ALWAYS afraid that Social services would find out, my parents would be put in jail, and my sisters and I would be put in foster care. When we got to be teenagers we were not allowed to bring anyone over who was not "cool". as in they had to smoke, or they were also raised around it. Being raised around it, I did not think it was wrong. I smoked weed, and did a few other things. I put my self in that cirlce of people, which led me to nothing but trouble. I was heading down the wrong path, but then I met my now husband, and he took me away from everything and showed me how a real family is. I have been drug free for a little over 3 years now, and plan to stay that way. And just to let you know I am all for legallizing weed, and when it becomes legal I will be one of the first in line. But right now it is still Illegal. I am not saying my parents where not good parents. I could, and still can talk to my mother about anything. And I know, no matter what my father will do anything in the world to help me, and be there for me. But I just have to let you know that it was not easy for me.
The same places ANYONE goes to get reliable information about drugs. erowid.org is a GREAT place to start. The book "From Chocolate to Morphine" by Dr. Andrew Weil is also a wonderful resource for reliable, unbiased drug info aimed at a younger audience. Well, "propaganda" is a deceptive term, meaning only information intended to promote a specific viewpoint. Not all propaganda is factually incorrect, or even misleading. There IS a lot of evidence that programs like DARE and the like not only don't work, but actually INCREASE the likelihood that kids will use drugs. http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/daremenu.htm
