We would all like to believe that if we were really good parents, our children would be happy and well adjusted enough that they would never take on any kinds of drug problems, and that they would have a lot of good times without having to resort to synthetic, chemically induced excuses for joy and pleasure. But let’s face facts- almost every young person will have at least experimented with the abuse of prescription medications by the time they go to college. And as infuriating and frustrating as this rite of passge is, there have got to be some rules laid down for it or your child could easily get too far into it.
Naturally, giving your children a lot of love and respect all throughout their lives is a firm foundation on which to start. If they trust your judgment and believe that they can talk to you about anything, they will be forthright about the drugs they enjoy taking, how often they do so, and at what age they first started doing so (and don’t be surprised if that first time happened at around 10 years old). So how old should you begin to advise them that no matter how good they might feel in the moment, drugs are generally not a good idea beyond mild recreational use?
There is never going to be a perfect time to have an all out “drug talk” with your kids. By the time you think about it, there is going to be a good chance that they have already tried out a few things. But what you can do is work to give them a perspective on the future, so that they will make future-based decisions.