Giving Up Drugs

“I hate you.” “Just leave me alone.” Yes it’s difficult to spot signs of drug abuse in your teen because as they get older their mood changes, they have unusual temper outbursts and certain habits change. It’s normal. So what should you look for?

Here are a few things parents can look for:

New friends. Has your teen changed the crowd they hang around? How can you know if your child is hanging out with the wrong crowd? Are they rough looking? Do they show a lack of respect for other adults?

Negative changes in school. Have they been missing school? Has their grades gone down? How is their behavior towards teachers?

Increased secrecy about things. Do they blow up if you go into their room uninvited? Does your teen lock his room door? Do they go into another room when talking on the phone? Do they get defensive when you ask them where they have been or where they are going?

Change in appearance. Do they wear clothes that highlight drug use, like dark gothic clothing or inappropriate slogans on their tee shirts? Do they no longer care about their appearance at all? You can tell this if they're always wearing sweatpants, tee shirts, dirty clothes or clothes that don’t even match or look decent.

Evidence of drugs such as a pipe, cigarette, etc. No matter how careful your teen may try to be they always leave something. So if you find any kind of drug or drug instrument there is definitely a chance your child may be involved in drugs.

Smell of mouth wash, mints or perfume. Do you smell these products often when you come into the present of your child? This is a sign that they are trying to cover up whatever it was they were doing.

Missing prescription drugs or over counter medications you keep in the house?

Depression. Have you noticed a drastic change in your child’s mood? Do they rather stay home in their room instead of hanging out with friends? How are their eating habits? Do they hardly talk?

These are just a few signs that your teen could be abusing drugs. There are signs all around and as a parent you must look for them before it’s too late.

Even looking for all these sign, you still may not be too sure - aside from owning drug use paraphernalia, a lot of them are pretty normal habits for teenagers. In extreme cases you could buy a drug home testing kit, but you have to be pretty sure before you try this avenue - i.e. if you already sat down and talked with them, they deny usuing drugs but you're still sure they're on something - otherwise you risk alienating them.