Originally Posted by nykid

I love to view these forums. Being a young teen, it's fascinating and hilarious to see what you guys think of kids my age. My opinion on this subject is that kids are going to use drugs. No matter what. I don't care if your child is high honor roll and is part of the jazz band and is going to MIT. The vast vast vast majority of children will try drugs at least once in their early teens. The same thing goes with drinking. If i was a parent, I would talk to my kids about the usage of drugs, but not in a "DON'T EVER EVER EVER DO THEM" type of way. I think if you explain not to take drugs in situations that could turn out very badly while they were high, the kids would be much more responsive. Talking to your teenager like a parent is not going to do anything in your favor. in fact, they will want to rebel more. We hate people telling us what to do. If you treat us like friends, we will be much more responsive. Try speaking as if you are one of their most trusted, best friends. Don't try to get into their buisness, or they will simply pull away and lose trust for you. Explaining some of your own stories of when you were our age and tried drugs helps humanize you more as well. Having animals do random raids on your kids rooms is not going to make them like you anymore. However, if you want them to be even more screwed up and determined to do what is forbidden, go ahead! Oh and btw, kids usually do much worse things when drunk than when high. Tell your kids that if they are going to drink, just don't ever get so drunk you can't control yourself. Never attack us with questions about if we've tried drugs or drinking, when, where, and why. I believe people my age do drugs/drink due to wanting more control of our own lives. We are told what to do by everybody, and in the end all we want is some freedom in order to feel less like subjects and more like citizens. REMEMBER: act like a friend. Suggest that they shouldn't drink or do drugs in situations that could turn out badly, and never to go over the top on either. A good relationship with your child will make them feel much more mature and as if we have more power then we actually do. good luck