Original URL: http://life.familyeducation.com/teen/drugs-and-alcohol/29742.html

Quick Tips: Kids, Drugs, & Alcohol

by Carleton Kendrick

Communicate your values about drugs and alcohol to your children. It will give them a set of guidelines to help them make healthy decisions. Here are five quick pointers for bringing up the subject.

1. Begin your discussions about drugs and alcohol long before the teenage years.

2. Don't mount a personal attack, deliver a sermon, or convene a family conference to open a dialogue on a tough subject.
3. Instead of taking the "big talk" approach, look for opportunities in everyday conversation to develop a dialogue with your kids.
4. You can't stop your teenager from being curious about drugs and alcohol, and you can't shield her from the social pressure to use them. But you can encourage her self-worth, give her the hard facts, establish firm limits, and keep the lines of "communication without condemnation" open.
5. Don't just preach it — live it! Serve as your own example of your beliefs and values concerning drugs and alcohol.

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