At what age do you think it is appropriate to talk to your child about drugs? Did you know that the school told my daughter that drugs were cigarettes and alcohol? Misinformation about drugs can lead to serious consequences.
My daughter is a third grader this year. When she was in first grade the school arranged for police officers to come to her school. It was for “Say No To Drugs” week. This was their appropriate way of talking to my child about drugs. She came home with some very interesting information to share with me.
“Mom, did you know that Nana does drugs?” I about fell off of my chair not to mention I wanted to ring my mothers neck. I humored her for a moment, I didn't want her to be upset because I got mad about her telling on Nana. I said, “Oh really, what kind of drugs does Nana do?” She told me that she smokes cigarettes. Wow! I was utterly blown away by this. Since when are we teaching our children that cigarettes are drugs. Yes, they are a harmful substance that we should not be putting into our bodies, but I would certainly not classify them as drugs. Not to mention, what if my child told another adult that her Nana does drugs around her. If that adult did not ask her any further questions or just assumed that she meant real drugs, it could lead to serious consequences for her Nana. I thought that the information given to my child was not clearly defined and to me seemed misleading.
In first grade I think teaching children about harmful substances is very age appropriate, as far as teaching them about drugs you need to give them correct information that will help them as they get older. Inaccurate information, as was the information taught to my daughter, can lead to false accusations and serious repercussions for anyone involved. When I was younger cigarettes and alcohol were not classified as drugs. Things like marijuana, PCP, methamphetamines, crack, cocaine, heroine, mary-jane, dope, grass, weed, crystal, and terms of that nature were references to what I would call drugs. These are appropriate terms to be making our children aware of. At what age depends on the willingness of the parents to make an effort to educate their child.
Could you imagine smoking a cigarette or having a drink and your child telling the school that you do drugs, everyday? Could you imagine the things that could happen to you, your child, or the rest of your family? Misinforming our youth is detrimental to the society as a whole, not just individual people. If you gave imprecise information to just twenty children and they convinced twenty younger children that they were right, could you imagine the wave of events that could follow. Misinforming our youth will have an affect on future generations.
There was one positive outcome to this conversation with my daughter. I was then able to have a serious talk about real drugs with my child. Once I explained to her that cigarettes and alcohol weren't really drugs, but were harmful substances that we should not put into our bodies and explained to her what the future holds for people with those substance abuse problems, she started asking questions. She wanted to know what real drugs were, what they were called, and what could happen if you put them in your body. I told her everything that I knew about drugs and their consequences that I learned from watching some of my very close friends and didn't sugar coat it. Honesty is very important when talking to your child about drugs. I was also able to talk about situations that might arise and gave her tips on how to handle peer pressure.
I am very proud to say that talking to my child about drugs was a turning point in our relationship as well as an eye opener for myself as too how much she already knew. Even now she remembers the difference between drugs and things that are harmful substances. And how to handle drug related situations with peers. Talking to my child about drugs at such an early age makes me feel like later on we can broach this subject again without hesitation.
