Talking to Your Kids About Drugs/Alcohol-Ages 5-8

Plenty Fox · 08-03-2005, 03:50 PM

At this age your children are showing an increased interest in the world outside the family and home. Now is the time to explain to them that some people use alcohol and drugs even though they are harmful and sometimes people start using a drug just to see what it feels like, but it turns into an addiction. Young children can understand the concept of addiction — that alcohol or drug use can become a very bad habit and it is hard to stop. Tell your children that even a small amount of alcohol can make them sick as alcohol has a much greater negative effect on a child’s brain and body than on an adult’s brain and body. Explain how alcohol and drugs interfere with the way our bodies work and how we think, and can make a person very sick or even cause them to die. Praise your children for taking good care of their bodies and avoiding things that might hurt them.

By the time your children are ready to enter fourth grade, they should have an understanding of:

How foods, poisons, and medicines differ from illegal drugs and alcohol
How medicines prescribed by a doctor and administered by a responsible adult may help during an illness, but can be very harmful if misused
How alcohol and drugs are harmful to children’s developing brains and bodies

Here’s how one recovering father addressed the difference between illegal drugs and doctor-prescribed medication. “I tell my kids that all things on this earth have functions, but when we misuse and abuse them, they become hurtful. My younger child has to take medication, so I explain to him that many drugs are helpful but other ones are not. I let him know that the drug he uses is very helpful and that it is different than the drugs his mother and I once used.”

08-03-2005, 03:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
Plenty Fox meeeeeeeeeeee Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Upstairs Posts: 951	Talking to Your Kids About Drugs/Alcohol-Ages 5-8 At this age your children are showing an increased interest in the world outside the family and home. Now is the time to explain to them that some people use alcohol and drugs even though they are harmful and sometimes people start using a drug just to see what it feels like, but it turns into an addiction. Young children can understand the concept of addiction — that alcohol or drug use can become a very bad habit and it is hard to stop. Tell your children that even a small amount of alcohol can make them sick as alcohol has a much greater negative effect on a child’s brain and body than on an adult’s brain and body. Explain how alcohol and drugs interfere with the way our bodies work and how we think, and can make a person very sick or even cause them to die. Praise your children for taking good care of their bodies and avoiding things that might hurt them. By the time your children are ready to enter fourth grade, they should have an understanding of: How foods, poisons, and medicines differ from illegal drugs and alcohol How medicines prescribed by a doctor and administered by a responsible adult may help during an illness, but can be very harmful if misused How alcohol and drugs are harmful to children’s developing brains and bodies Here’s how one recovering father addressed the difference between illegal drugs and doctor-prescribed medication. “I tell my kids that all things on this earth have functions, but when we misuse and abuse them, they become hurtful. My younger child has to take medication, so I explain to him that many drugs are helpful but other ones are not. I let him know that the drug he uses is very helpful and that it is different than the drugs his mother and I once used.” __________________ Damme ape’semmai, "Andabichidaiboonee’ gimmadu’i.Wihyu memme hainjinee’ nahandu’i. Enne wizha sudei’ tsaangu mabizhiahkande," mai. The Creator said, "A foreign race of white people will come, who will become your friends. You should treat them well." The Creator sure had a strange sense of humor!

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Talking to Your Kids About Drugs/Alcohol-Preschool	Plenty Fox	Native Issues	0	08-03-2005 03:49 PM
To All The Kids Who Survived...	~pathwalker~	Chit Chat	3	07-08-2005 07:59 PM
Red Lake kids head to Gathering of Nations	Smokin' Ace	Native Issues	0	04-29-2005 06:32 PM
Jerry’s Kids Discover Jerry Lewis not Their Real Father!!!	Mato Winyan	Chit Chat	9	02-11-2004 07:54 PM
Should Marijuana be legalized?	jazzy95	Chit Chat	69	10-22-2003 09:34 PM

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)