Discovering your child may be using drugs or alcohol can be both jarring and frightening. We talk to concerned parents about this all the time. If you are a parent that is worried that your teenager is doing drugs, consider that one of the worst things you can do is pretend that it is not happening. This is an incredibly anxious time for parents and your family as a whole. Part of this anxiety comes from knowing you must confront the issue, but also the fear of what else you might not yet know. First, take a second to give yourself some credit for finding the courage to begin this research. Next, you need to quickly find out what you don’t know and also contemplate the best way to approach your child about the situation. Below you will find a quick summary of what to do when you learn your teen is addicted to drugs.

Understanding and Assessing the Situation

In order to properly approach and address your teen’s drug use, you need to first have a firm grasp on the situation. You need to know what type of drugs they are doing. Most of our concerned parent callers know that there is drug use occurring but they are not quite sure when or what drugs. For most drugs, a saliva, blood, or urine drug test has a look back of only a few days which is why most concerned parents choose hair testing. Hair drug testing offers extended detection times usually in 3 month increments. For example, as long as you have a few inches of head hair length, we can order a hair drug test with a look back of 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, etc. If you are not sure what drugs your child is doing, choosing a more comprehensive hair drug test is a good idea. You might consider a 17, 13, or 10 panel hair follicle test. When you call to order your drug test we will be happy to help you narrow down what you need so that you are not overspending. We offer the option of doing a collection either from home or at one of our drug testing collection facilities. We can also perform a drug test on a hairbrush sample.

Addressing the Behavior

It is not easy knowing what to do when you learn your teen is addicted to drugs. However, you do know your child better than most others. It’s likely that your teen will be angry or defensive, so you must be the one to stay composed. Contemplate the best approach for your child. Be prepared for what they are going to tell you, and ready with suggestions and next steps. Consider an agreement that involves what you need from them and what you can offer them in return. It’s important to clearly set the limits of what you believe to be acceptable behavior and reinforce that with appropriate consequences and positive reinforcement. After you’ve set your expectations, allow your teen to have input. By allowing them to have input, and influence the expectations they are held to, the conversation will feel less hostile to your child and instead can become more of a collaborative effort.

Portraying the Risks

Hopefully, by now, you know what you are dealing with. Hopefully you have talked with or tested your teen and you know what drugs are their “go-to” drugs of choice. If you know what drugs they are using you can do some research and better know what they are going through. A teenager doing drugs is never good, but the severity of the drugs and the addiction needs to match your response. A good grasp on the situation along with a solid understanding of the effects of the drugs they are using will help you clearly explain to your teen why you’re worried and why their drug abuse is no okay.

On-going Testing for Drugs

Parents that get a positive urine or hair drug test often ask us what drug testing to do next. There is some real value in getting your child or loved one set up with an on-going drug testing program. The idea that they will be expected to provide “clean” negative drug tests in the future is sometimes just what they need to stay on track. We strongly suggest making the drug testing random. You want to keep them guessing when they might be expected to provide a drug test sample. Another good strategy is a combination of hair and urine testing. This way they will not know what is expected and therefore will not know how to prepare. For example, if a child is doing heroin they can stop doing it for a few days to pass a urine test. Or, for a hair test, you may not want to wait the 90 day time frame before finding they are still using. Also, adding hair testing might actually save money by not requiring multiple urine tests per week or month. We can talk with you and come up with an easy random urine and hair drug testing strategy. Often the 5 or 10-panel hair follicle tests will cover your concerns without costing too much! We can also pull the random for you, or we can let you be the one to tell us when each test is needed.