Vizag Central

In the recent years, we have seen an explosion in drug usage and addiction among our teens. When we were growing up, most kids were completely oblivious to drugs. Now a days parents are oblivious to the fact that more and more students are hooked to drugs every day.
In a report filed by the police department, as many as 60% of teens in Andhra Pradesh are addicted to drugs. This might come as a shock to the parents who had very little exposure to  them. Think about it, if you have 2 kids , it's statistically likely that one of them is using drugs or even addicted to them.
It's an alarming thought. So what can we do about it.
The first step would be to find out if your kid is doing drugs. This might be  harder than you think.
Here a list if questions you ask yourself.

• Has your kid been falling back in class?
• Is he or she either tired or hyper active all the time or shifts from one to another fairly quickly?
• Has (s)he been lying about staying late at school?
• Did s/he ask for more money than usual recently?
• Any drastic weight loss or gain?
• Did s/he change the set of friends to hang out with?

If you answered yes to even a few of the above questions, you should be concerned about your child. Check up on them constantly and talk to them about it.
So now, you have an idea if your child might be doing drugs. What next?
Here are some tips to put your children on the right path.

• Spend time with them after school.
• Avoid smoking or drinking (and obviously doing drugs) in front of them if you have those habits.
• Know your kids friends. Spend time with them when they visit.
• Put your child in some kind if a extra curricular activity or sports. Many schools have programs for these kinds of things. This will help him spend his free time towards a healthy goal and eventually develop a healthy lifestyle.
• Keep their finances in check. Its fine pamper you kid with money as long as you can keep track of what they are spending it on.
• Take them to a physical health check once a year.

It is very important that you cultivate a sense of freedom an honesty in your children. This will allow them to communicate freely with family closing any unwanted gaps.

The teen drug usage can be easily prevented if you give it a little bit of attention every day. Keep an eye on your children and make sure you know where they are at all times.
We have to act before India turns into a drug infested state like other developed countries where drugs is a major issue among school children.

Your turn

What do you think about drugs among teens? Are you a teen facing drugs? Is your kid an addict? Tell us your story.