How to Prevent Prescription-Drug Addiction Among Children

According to the Office of National Drug Control Prevention, abuse of prescription drugs is one of the nation's largest drug problems, second only to marijuana. It is easy to see why. Prescription drugs are advertised on television as a panacea for a variety of ills. They are left in bathroom medicine cabinets in houses children live in and visit and are easily attainable. Prescription drugs do not carry the stigma that street drugs do, which broadens their user base. Unfortunately, many children abuse prescription drugs. How can you prevent their abuse and subsequent addiction?

Instructions

• 1

  Educate yourself. Make sure that you know which prescription drugs are commonly abused by children. Currently, the most common drugs of abuse are opioids (painkillers such as OxyContin and Vicodin), CNS depressants (sedatives such as Xanax and Ambien) and stimulants (attention medications such as Ritalin and Adderall). Many common drugs fall into these three classifications, and all of them have addictive properties.

• 2

  Educate your children. Make sure that they know that prescription drugs can be dangerous. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 95 percent of all unintentional poison deaths in the United States are due to drugs, including prescription drugs.

• 3

  Limit the amount of television that your child watches. Prescription-drug commercials are common during normal viewing hours, and even addictive drugs are advertised. Repeatedly viewing commercials that present prescription-drug use as common may give your child the idea that taking those drugs is "no big deal." If you see a commercial for a prescription drug when you and your child are watching television together, use the opportunity to discuss the consequences of using that drug.

• 4

  Make prescription drugs inaccessible. You or other members of your family may take prescription drugs. If so, put them in a locked box where your children and your children's friends are unable to access them. Prevention is essential, as many teens obtain prescription drugs from friends and family members. A study conducted by Richard C. Goldsworthy, Ph.D., and Christopher B. Mayhorn, Ph.D., which was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health in 2009, found that out of 594 adolescents, 20 percent of had provided prescription medication to their friends.

• 5

  Do not talk about drugs in positive manner. If you take a painkiller, tranquilizer or other addictive prescription drug, do so discreetly. Be careful not to make remarks indicating how much better you feel since you have taken the drug or how good it makes you feel. Your children may be hanging on to your every word.

• 6

  Know your child's friends and their families. This idea may seem antiquated in today's world, but you need to know if your child's friends are using drugs because this is a strong predictor for drug use in your own child. You also need to know if your child has access to drugs at their friends' houses. Talk to other parents, and make sure your child and his friends do not have access to prescription drugs.

• 7

  Spend time developing a strong relationship with your child. This is the single most effective thing you can do to prevent drug use and addiction. The time you put into developing that relationship will pay off when you need to talk to your child about touchy issues such as drug abuse. Create a safe environment for your child to talk to you about drug use that he sees occurring at school, in the neighborhood or among friends. This will enable you to find out about problems early and take preventative steps.

• 8

  Be careful about letting doctors prescribe your child addictive prescription drugs. If your child has his wisdom teeth out, try Ibupropen for the pain before giving your him Vicodin. If your child has ADD, consider other alternatives before accepting a prescription for a stimulant. Dangerous drugs are commonly given to children and adolescents, and few doctors discuss the addictive properties that they have. Before giving your child an addictive drug, make sure that there are no other alternatives.