How to Talk to Your Kids About Drugs: A Parent’s Guide
- Hayley Meerdo
- Mar 31, 2025
- 3 min read
5 Minute Read
By: Hayley Meerdo
While reflecting on my internship highlights, this article touches on a huge concern of many families around the world, and was a task of mine to share while writing for Reality Tour.
It is important to communicate with our children and teens about avoiding the dangers of drug use and peer pressure early on. It is a recurring conversation children have between k-12 education and outside programs, but a child’s most powerful prevention tool remains in the hands of their primary adult.
The topic of drugs and alcohol could be nerve wracking or uncomfortable to bring up to your kids, especially if it invites sensitive reactions, but it is so vital to converse about to ensure your kids are educated and have an understanding of the consequences, specifically from a parents perspective. Most school districts do a great job at providing drug education programs, but not all. Being your child’s protection and prevention is a major priority in keeping our youth safe and aware.
Be considerate of what is age appropriate when addressing certain drugs or alcohol, as well as explaining the difference in functions or visuals of different substances. It is key for children to understand the differences between what substances contain and what consequences they could cause short and long-term. Remaining transparent with your child about common drugs in your area and what situations they may come across can help prevent your child from using in the future and keep them aware about what to do in those potential situations. Clearing up misconceptions your child may have about certain substances is important to shape their understanding as well as forging a safe path for them to see in an instance substances are revealed.
Most children will be exposed to a substance eventually, whether that's prescription, illegal substances or alcohol, because of overall societal norms or through the lack of education in other children and teens. Consistently educating your child throughout the year with small, but effective, conversations can make a big impact on your child’s understanding and cognitive decision-making skills in situations that may contain harmful substances. Having brief, but informative, conversations about drug and alcohol use performs as a best practice in grasping your child's attention, but not overwhelming them.
Some tips to addressing conversations with your kids include:
Allowing your child or teen to speak their opinions and form your own parent-to-child plan or code word for when a potentially harmful situation occurs can be very effective in preventing drug use.
Remain open and converse freely with your child to touch on any of their concerns or thoughts. It is more effective to approach your child with an understanding tone and set boundaries rather than restricting overall freedoms. Making sure your child knows they have a trusted, caring and understanding adult will limit the chance of your child using substances against their own or your family’s learned moral rights.
Keep goals for the conversation and ensure all vital points catered to your child specifically are discussed.
Attend an in-person drug-prevention initiative with your child or teen to give the exposure of real-life impacts and experiences while giving them the comfort and concern of a trusted guardian.
Explain to your child that they may have concerns for their peers or friends and it is important for them to be a role model in return, and advocate the idea of staying drug free among those close groups.
Let your child know that you trust them and their decision making abilities to establish that parent-child connection, and make the household expected values clear.
Approach your child with the topic with the message to always try to “see beyond the next ten minutes”- Reality Tour Director Norma Norris. Addressing the dangers of drugs early on can really set your child ahead and inspire them to make the right choices if the discussed situations ever occur.
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