Don't put off talking to your children about alcohol and other drugs. As early as fourth grade, kids worry about pressures to try drugs. School programs alone aren't enough.

Parents must become involved, but most parents aren't sure how to tell their children about drugs.

Open communication is one of the most effective tools you can use in helping your child avoid drugs use. Talking freely and really listening shows children that they mean a great deal to you.

What Do You Say?

• Tell them that you love them and you want them to be healthy and happy.
• Say you do not find alcohol and other illegal drug use acceptable. Many parents never state this simple principle.
• Explain how this use hurts people. Physical harm--for example, AIDS, slowed growth, impaired coordination, accidents.
• Emotional harm--sense of not belonging, isolation, paranoia. Educational harm--difficulties remembering and paying attention.
• Discuss the legal issues. A conviction for a drug offense can lead to time in prison or cost someone a job, driver's license, or college loan.
• Talk about positive, drug-free alternatives, and how you can explore them together. Some ideas include sports, reading, movies, bike rides, hikes, camping, cooking, games, and concerts. Involve your kids' friends.

How Do You Say It?

• Calmly and openly--don't exaggerate. The facts speak for themselves.
• Face to face--exchange information and try to understand each other's point of view. Be an active listener and let your child talk about fears and concerns. Don't interrupt and don't preach.
• Through "teachable moments"--in contrast to a formal lecture, use a variety of situations----television news, TV dramas, books, newspapers.
• Establish an ongoing conversation rather than giving a one-time speech.
• Remember that you set the example. Avoid contradictions between your words and your actions. And don't use illegal drugs, period!
• Be creative! You and your child might act out various situation in which one person tries to pressure another to take a drug. Figure out two or three ways to handle each situation and talk about which works best.
• Exchange ideas with other parents.

How Can I Tell if a Child is Using Drugs?
Identifying illegal drug use may help prevent further abuse. Possible signs include:

• Change in moods--more irritable, secretive, withdrawn, overly sensitive, inappropriately angry, euphoric.
• Less responsible--late coming home, late for school or class, dishonest.
• Changing friends or changing lifestyles--new interests, unexplained cash.
• Physical deterioration--difficulty in concentration, loss of coordination, loss of weight, unhealthy appearance.
• Refuses to talk or be around family.

Why Do People Use Drugs?
Young people say they turn to alcohol and other drugs for one or more of these reasons:

• To do what their friends are doing
• To escape pain in their lives
• To fit in
• Boredom
• For fun
• Curiosity
• To take risks

Take a Stand!

• Educate yourself about the facts surrounding alcohol and other drug use. You will lose credibility with your child if your information is not correct.
• Establish clear family rules against drug use and enforce them consistently.
• Develop your parenting skills through seminars, networking with other parents, reading, counseling, and support groups.
• Work with other parents to set community standards--you don't raise a child alone.
• Volunteer at schools, youth centers. Boys & Girls Clubs, or other activities in your community.

For More Information

• State and local government drug use prevention, intervention, and treatment agencies.
• State and local mental health agencies.
• State and local law enforcement agencies.
• Private drug use treatment services listed in the telephone book Yellow Pages.

Inhalants - What Parents Should Know
We carefully label and safely store many household products that are harmful or fatal if swallowed. But what about the hundreds of products--glue, paint, lighter fluid, fingernail polish, permanent markers, and anything in aerosol cans--that young people can sniff to get a rapid, dangerous "high?" It's easy to buy inhalants, and abuse is on the increase. In 1994, one in five eighth graders reported using inhalants at least once.

An inhalant "high" gives a feeling of well-being and reduces inhibitions, much like the effects of alcohol and other sedatives. Higher doses produce laughter and giddiness, feelings of floating, time and space distortions, and hallucinations.

Some signs of inhalant abuse:

• Slow speech
• Disorientation
• Spots or sore around the mouth
• Headaches and nausea
• A general drunken appearance

Make no mistake -- inhalants can be deadly.

Some people die from heart failure or suffocation the first time they sniff to get high. Chronic abuse can cause severe, permanent brain damage.

Other side effects include breathing problems, heart palpitations, muscle weakness, abnormalities in liver and kidney function, chromosome damage, loss of appetite and weight, impaired judgment that can lead to confusion, panic, and violent behavior.

"Sniffing" is frequently a first step to such drugs as crack and heroin.

Marijuana - Common, Dangerous, and Still Illegal
In 1994, three in ten high school seniors said they smoked marijuana at least once. It's the most widely used illicit drug in the United States and tends to be the first illegal drug teens use.

Just because it's common doesn't mean marijuana is safe. In fact, the marijuana used today is far stronger than that available two or three decades ago--and far more dangerous.

Using marijuana may cause:

• Memory problems
• Reduced abilities to do things that need concentration and coordination, such as driving a car.
• Increased appetite
• Decreased inhibitions
• Bloodshot eyes, dry mouth and throat
• Lower testosterone levels and sperm counts in men
• Increased testosterone in women, which can cause acne and increased facial and body hair
• Paranoia and hallucinations
• Diminished or extinguished sexual pleasure
• Psychological dependence so that over time more of the drug is needed to get the same effect

Marijuana is Still Illegal
Depending on where an individual is arrested, penalties for possession, use, and dealing can be harsh. Convicted individuals face fines, possible imprisonment, and a criminal record.