Signs & Symptoms of Teen Drinking/preteen Drug Use
How can you tell if your child is using drugs or alcohol? It is difficult because not all teens are the same. In this article you will find specific, up to date signs and symptoms that your child is using. The age of teens and pre-teens using drugs is getting younger everyday. Changes in mood or attitudes, unusual temper outbursts, changes in sleeping habits, new friends they might be hanging out with and changes in hobbies or other interests are common in teens and pre-teens. What should you look for? What should you do about it?
You can also look for signs of depression, withdrawal, carelessness with grooming or hostility. Also ask yourself, is your child doing well in school, getting along with friends, taking part in sports or other activities?
You can also look for signs of depression, withdrawal, carelessness with grooming or hostility. Also ask yourself, is your child doing well in school, getting along with friends, taking part in sports or other activities?
Instructions
- 1Does your child exhibit any of this new behavior? I'm going to teach you what to look for, drug lingo, and how to talk to you child. Drug abuse is a disease and should be treated like one. As will any terminal illness this should be caught early. Would you not have your child treated for cancer right away? This is a terminal illness, it wants to destroy the users life and the sooner it's caught the better. Many people believe that the user has a choice, many do not after their first use. I am a former user and i want to help you understand just how hard this disease is. Some teens might be using to fit in, some teens might have an underlying mental illness such as depression or anxiety or some might just be using because they fell in love instantly with the feeling of being high. Whatever reason they have we must stop them as soon as possible for the best results.The parents watch listChanges in friends (your child is no longer hanging out with the same people they have always been friends with)
Negative changes in schoolwork, missing school, cutting classes, ditching school, or declining grades
Increased secrecy about possessions or activities
Use of incense, room deodorant, hairspray or perfume to hide smoke or chemical odors
Subtle changes in conversations with friends, e.g. more secretive, using "coded" language, or your child leaves the room when he/she receives phone calls
Change in clothing choices: new fascination with clothes that highlight drug use
Increase in borrowing money
Drug paraphernalia such as pipes, rolling papers, cigar guts(the insides of a cigar), straws that have been cut in half, hypodermic needles, rubber arm ties(the ones they use in hospitals to draw blood),pill grinder(these are plastic or glass and circular with spikes inside),spoons, tiny pieces of balled up cotton, etc.
Evidence of use of inhalant products (such as hairspray, nail polish, correction fluid, common household products, whipped cream in a can); Rags and paper bags are sometimes used as accessories, a balloon with a metal piece inserted into the opening of the balloon
Bottles of eye drops, which may be used to mask bloodshot eyes or dilated pupils
New use of mouth wash or breath mints to cover up the smell of alcohol
Missing prescription drugs-especially narcotics and mood stabilizers
New attitude towards you (your child tells you just leave me alone, it's none of your business, stay out of my life etc.). - 2Drug Lingo: Know What to Listen for
Does your child use the words such as dope, tripping, rolling, blunted, geeked, tweeking, or twisted these are some of the frequent words used when they are referring to getting high. Every state has different terms that they use but, these are the most common.
Have you ever heard your teenager reference the time "4:20?" Many parents don't realize that 420 (pronounced "four-twenty") is a "secret code" for a time to get high, it mostly is referenced for pot. The reference to 420 presumably dates back to '70s stoner lingo but is still widely recognized by the youth of today. Some people have even designated April 20th as "National Pot Smokers Day." Every pot user is supposed to smoke a blunt (pot rolled into a cigar such as a Dutch master or Phillies blunt)at 4:20 pm on this date.If you hear your teenager reference 420, see that he is using the term while instant messaging with friends or has a 420 sticker on his car or backpack, call him on it. Also there is a magazine called high times that a lot of teens might purchase. Let him know you know what he's talking about and set up a time for a longer conversation about your family's no tolerance policy for drug and alcohol use. Be understanding if your teen thinks your being mean or you don't understand this may make them withdraw even more. You teen needs to know that you care about them and your not judging them. Let them know that you understand and let them know if you have ever done it before, you want to make sure that your child feels like they can trust you. They are more likely to tell you information if they feel like your not mad but you understand what they are going through and why they are doing this. - 3Illegal drugs and their slang names:Cocaine: powder, white, coke, C, big c, flake, fish-scale, rush
LSD: Acid, tabs, blotters, gel tabs, drops, hits, trip
peyote: cactus, plant, blue
Mushrooms: magic mushrooms, shrooms
Ketamine: Special K, Kat, K-hole, Kit-kat
Heroin: Dope, black tar, herron, nodding out, H, Hairy, H-bombs
Marijuana: Pot, weed, trees, green, hay, haze, herb
Extacy: E-bombs, E, Extacy, X
Crack cocaine: Rock, crack, C, electric kool-aid
Nitrous oxide: ballooning, whippits
Methamphetamine: crystal, crystal meth, glass, upper, speed
Other drugs your teen might be using, these are drugs you might find in your own home.
Prescription pills: oxycontin, dilaudid, ****, ****, darvocet, ****, klonopin, ativan, ambien, lunesta, morphine, lorocet, ****, ultracet, and seroquil (It is very common that these pills are also sold on the street). If you take any of these prescription drugs make sure to keep them locked up in a safe or lockbox. If you cannot afford one keep them in your bedroom and lock it and sleep with them. The best way is to hide them in your pillowcase while you sleep.
Inhalant: hairspray, air freshener, paint thinner, spray paint, whipped cream.Gateway drugs: These are the drugs your child is most likely to use before using any hard core drugs like heroin or cocaine. Gateway drugs include tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. Teens don't really perceive these drugs as being bad, they say things like "well i' m only drinking and smoking pot it's no big deal". After that they start using things like acid and mushrooms. Then they progress to cocaine, crack and heroin. - 4How to have "The Talk" with your childIf you suspect that your teen is doing drugs don't fly off the handle, that is sure to make them not want to reveal anything to you. Let them know that you understand. ask them why they are doing it, is it to fit in, do they feel depressed, have anxiety or just like the feeling. Tell them you know what they are going through, that you were that age once too. Let them know you are not mad at them but instead you want to help them. You know sometimes you hear people say "don't be a friend to your child, be a parent" well this is a time you must be a friend and parent so you can gain their trust. Let them know the dangers of drugs also let them know that their new friends really don't care about them and it's not a real friendship, the only thing the actually have in common is the fact that they all use. Be as honest as possible and always let them know no matter what you love them. sometimes by the time you reach this point it's already too late for a talk to work, if so you might want to consider a drug rehab, AA or NA meetings, or tell them they are not going to be able to live in your home anymore. As hard as this may seem in the long run you are saving your child's life. I told you earlier i am a former drug user, like most i started with pot and alcohol. In the end i was hooked on heroin. I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I've been through. it has taken me three stints in drug rehab to get clean. I have been sober now for 5 months. If i had parents who would of talked to me it probably would of had a huge impact on my life. So remember go easy and always love them no matter what. Like i said it is a terminal disease.
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Read more: How to Know If Your Teen Is Using Drugs (signs and Symptoms of Illicit Drug Use) | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5802984_teen-symptoms-illicit-drug-use_.html#ixzz2RCtC40Kw
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