PARENTS MUST ALSO WORK TO KEEP KIDS OFF DRUGS

Youth workers face a constant battle educating parents about teenage
drug use. Child workers like Louise Logue with the Ottawa Police
Service routinely sit on panels with addiction counselors, drug
enforcement officers, school resource officers and school staff trying
to educate every new generation that comes along.

But it isn't just the kids they're trying to reach. A typical
presentation includes reminding parents that they have an important
part in the fight. Parents need to set curfews. There's no need for a
12-year-old to be out at 11 p.m. That's one thing police are always
wondering about: why are the kids out so late? And, where are the parents?

Since parents are responsible for their children, they must inquire
where their children are going. They must set curfews. They must
demand accountability.

But there are still members of the adult audience who, despite the
admonishment to actually do their job as a parent, still ask the
experts, "Yes, but what are YOU doing to keep MY child off drugs?"

The parent who posed this question at a session a few years ago
admitted she didn't know whether her 14-year-old was doing drugs. She
was simply concerned about the kids her daughter hung out with and the
late night hours she was keeping.

She doubted that she had the right to set a curfew, let alone to
question her child about her activities and friends.

This mother, in other words, was giving her daughter carte blanche to
get into trouble.

It's all very well that we ask police to enforce the drug laws and
psychologists to counsel us when we're in trouble. But there is
something parents can do today, to help.

Set a few simple rules and then enforce them.

You don't have to be a tyrant about it. You just need to ensure their
safety while you gradually give them more independence.

Make it a house rule that every time a kid switches direction he has
to let mom or dad know. That means, if he goes to the park, and then
heads over to his friend's house afterwards, he has to call home to
say where he is now. If he's at a friend's house and they all head to
another friend's, the same phone call applies.

If you praise him for that action, you will encourage him or her to
call when they get into their teenage years, because they will trust
you to help (even if it's just a drive home at 2 a.m.).

Parents also need to talk to their kids about life. That includes the
hot topics of both sex and drugs.

Case workers routinely come across kids trading sex for drugs and
other cases of 10-year-olds getting hooked on drugs. Make sure it's
not your child getting into trouble, by talking, in general terms,
about things you don't approve of.

And take some responsibility for your kids. There's a real danger when
parents start handing that responsibility over to the state.

Is it really a good idea to make schools surrogate parents when it
comes to sex and drug education?

Your child may at some point experiment with something like marijuana.
You can help keep that moment at arm's length through education. Both
yours and your child's.