Drugs

maturing into an independent free person. This is not easy for teenagers and can lead to many conflicting situations. After all, as parents you have been the main reference persons in the life of your teenagers who are now beginning to assert and distance themselves. Rules and boundaries must be renegotiated and implemented. This example deals with the attitude to drugs. This issue provides numerous possibilities of going around parental rules and simply go try it for yourself. At the same time, the topic affords you the opportunity to communicate a clear position and to express your own attitudes. This action is part of the basic competence of a democratic citizen. However, in a direct discussion with your children it is probably best to try it with I-Messages.

• Your children are suddenly doing poorly in school.
• Their sleeping rhythm is changing substantially.
• Your children withdraw and avoid you.
• Your children change friends or lose contact with them entirely.
• They show a lack of interest in their hobbies.
• Your children have unusually strong emotional fluctuations and little or no desire for anything.
• Your children spend more money than usual.

These changes could also be part of a normal development during puberty. Therefore, it is best not to panic, but to remain engaged in conversations to find out more about the reasons behind these changes.

For more information:
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/tc/teen-alcohol-and-drug-abuse-topic-overview#1
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-adolescent-substance-use-disorder-treatment-research-based-guide/principles-adolescent-substance-use-disorder-treatment

¹ Gordon, Thomas. 2012. Familienkonferenz. Die Lösung von Konflikten zwischen Eltern und Kind. 3. Aufl. München: Heyne, 143 ff

Die Stellen zur Suchtprävention im Kanton Zürich. 2016. Trinken, Rauchen, Kiffen. Abhängigkeit bei Jugendlichen vermeiden. Tipps für Eltern von 11- bis 16-Jährigen. Broschüre, 5. überarb. Aufl.

Gordon, Thomas. 2012. Familienkonferenz. Die Lösung von Konflikten zwischen Eltern und Kind. 3. Aufl. München: Heyne.

Nolan, Virginia. 2016. «Mein Kind kifft. Was nun?» Das Schweizer Elternmagazin Fritz und Fränzi, Februar. retrieved 10.11.2016.
https://www.fritzundfraenzi.ch/gesundheit/psychologie/mein-kind-kifft-was-nun