Raising teenagers is an incredibly difficult task for any parent. Hormones and insecurities can turn your loving child into a nightmarish individual. All of these problems can be exacerbated if your child suffers from a drug or alcohol addiction. While no parent wants to look the eyes of addiction in the face, it is crucial you come to terms with it and seek treatment for your teen. Included here are a few steps to take if you suspect your teenager has an addiction.
Ask Them
Sagebrush Rehab, located in Virginia, states that “the start of a new life begins when you reach out.” This may seem entirely too obvious and you may believe your child will lie, but bringing the issue out into the open is the first step in dealing with the problem. Your teenager may have just been waiting for a chance to offload and the road to healing may begin immediately after. You may believe your teen will be dishonest with you, but don’t underestimate your skills as a parent, you know them well and may be able to tell.
Look for Physical Evidence
People who are using drugs or alcohol on a regular basis begin to have difficulty maintaining a facade. If your teen is suffering from regular nosebleeds, they may be using snorted drugs like cocaine or meth. Other symptoms that could indicate a problem are sudden weight loss or gain, bloodshot eyes, seizures, change in appetite or deterioration in physical grooming.
Search Their Room
Obviously, this is not a tactic to be taken lightly. Searching your teen’s room breaks privacy, but if you genuinely believe they are lying to you and refuse to own up, you may have to take drastic action. Often, drugs will be hidden within the mattress, outside their window or under floorboards; search carefully and don’t ignore obvious locations.
Monitor Your Children
Many teenagers are able to make poor choices simply due to insufficient supervision by their parents. Trusting your teen too much can allow them to spend time doing illicit activities without any fear of disciplinary action. Take time to be involved with your teen, ask them questions about their day, know who they spend time with and where their physical location is. Implement a curfew and make sure your child can always be located where they say they will be.
Put Them in Rehab
Fortunately, there are now many drug rehabilitation centers that cater to teenagers and young adults. With inpatient or outpatient facilities, you should be able to find a care program that will suit your child’s needs. Treatment is incredibly important to moving forward from your child’s addiction.
Following a successful bout at rehab, it may be necessary for your family to change neighborhoods, or schools, and begin monitoring all of your child’s friends more closely. Prevention of a relapse is crucial to the long term success of your recovering teen.