What Are The Looks And Actions Of Your Kid Telling You?

2009.05.03

So, how do you tell if your teen is doing marijuana or other drugs? Well, there are many signs that evident if you know where to look. Weed is the most abused drug by teens, aside form alcohol, and, it is curious to note that pot is illegal and alcohol isn’t
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If you don’t know what marijuana smells like, then you should go to someone who uses it and know what it smells like. One of the first signs to look for is drop in grades in school. If your teen has consistently bloodshot eyes, and appears dopey most of the time, chances are they are on something, and it’s probably hash

Many parents fall into the trap of denial, and some even into self-recrimination. The “No not mine” syndrome is very common, followed by the “Where did I go wrong” question. Other parents fall into the trap of doing the full frontal assault on their teen, resulting in their teen shutting down completely.

 Therefore, what is the answer – communication.
The first sign of a teen in trouble is the lack of communication. Communication is the powerful thing out there, and, as a result, the most abused. If communication is not a high priority in the family, then so much water goes under the bridge before someone wakes up and takes notice, and when they do, in a family that doesn’t communicate, the result is horrendous, the full frontal assault, complete with threats and accusations, and the inevitable result – the total shut down of the teen.

However, before any of these scenarios can take place, there is a lot of preventive work that can be done, and that is education. Education is a very high form of communication, and through education of both parents and kids, a lot can be learned and discussed and shared so that the teen feels he/she is a part of the group. Remember, these are very awkward years of development, and a lot of times, teens don’t know how to express themselves, and so they shut down in confusion, instead.

If the teen is habitually refusing to communicate, or appears consistently lethargic, then, those signs are good indicators that there is something going on that they don’t want to tell you for fear of being found out. These can be difficult times if communication isn’t a featured item on a family’s agenda. If the refusal to talk becomes fervent denial, then it’s time to talk straight, and to the point, by telling them their behavior irregularities back to them, which will be followed by the usual denial, but with persistence and a steady, firm, and calm tone, in most cases that will break the ice and communication will be forthcoming. If you observe some strange items around the bedroom you may later learn to find out that they are hash pipes, bongs or hash bags for example.

If the problem escalates it’s time to get some professional help before it gets out of hand, but usually, in most cases, with some open communication, the truth can be discovered.