Is it Time to Talk to Your Teen About Drug Use?

The US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has recently updated its Family Checkup resource for parents concerned about whether their children will start or are already using drugs. 

The resource is built around five questions, developed by the Child and Family Center at the University of Oregon, highlighting positive parenting skills. Each question is illustrated with video examples alongside information to help parents practice these important skills.

The questions are:

1. Are you able to communicate calmly and clearly with your teenager regarding relationship problems?
2. Do you encourage positive behaviors in your teenager on a daily basis?
3. Are you able to negotiate emotional conflicts with your teenager and work toward a solution?
4. Are you able to calmly set limits when your teenager is defiant or disrespectful? Are you able to set limits on more serious problem behavior such as drug use, if or when it occurs?
5. Do you monitor your teenager to assure that he or she does not spend too much unsupervised time with peers?