Nobody ever said parenting was easy, or if they did then they lied! From those first precious months of life, through babyhood and school days, every stage brings new joys and fresh challenges. Dealing with problems and issues when...
Nobody ever said parenting was easy, or if they did then they lied! From those first precious months of life, through babyhood and school days, every stage brings new joys and fresh challenges. Dealing with problems and issues when your son or daughter is a teenager is definitely much more difficult than it was during their younger, dependent years, and there’s no one right way to tackle thorny topics.
Teenage vs. adult mindset
Around half of all teenagers will try drugs at some point, partly because it’s an age when the perils of experimenting, risk taking and thrill chasing are not really important or seriously considered. Some will do it because of peer pressure, or a fear of not looking ‘cool’, others are curious, and some are perhaps looking for an escape from the pressures of teenage life.
As a parent it’s important to keep these things in mind; not as ways to excuse or justify smoking weed, but to better understand why your child may be doing it. You know it’s really important to knock this into touch before a habit is formed, or weed leads to harder drugs or a criminal conviction down the line, but resolving this problem is not as straightforward as simply being sensible.
Open and maintain communication lines
Ignoring something rarely works, so if you suspect, or have evidence that, your teenager is smoking weed it is important to confront them, using an approach you know will work best considering your teenager’s personality, and the relationship between you.
Try to stay calm, be understanding, and to create an atmosphere where your child can feel comfortable sharing information and feelings. Avoid arguments, lectures, judgments and threats, instead concentrate on listening closely. It’s fine to make your feelings clear, but in a mature way, and to make sure they know you may not love what they are doing but you still love, and will support them, as a person. It may take a few attempts to gain their trust, so don’t give up.
Educate yourself
If you can calmly discuss things it’s fine to share your worries and concerns, but make sure you are clued up on weed. Exaggerating the pitfalls without understanding the pleasure aspect makes things too one-sided. You may get the risks of threatening future employment and travel prospects, or developing a psychiatric condition but teenagers simply don’t have the capacity to think about consequences so readily.
Seek outside help
It isn’t any kind of failing to look for support from outside the family. Professional therapist, drug-youth workers, online forums and other resources exists to provide specialist care – so make full use of them, even if just for yourself if your teenager is resistant.
Dealing with a weed smoking teenage son or daughter isn’t going to be easy, but with the right approach and being open to both family and external support it’s very possible the situation can be resolved, and relationships strengthened as a result.
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