Warning Signs of Teen Drug and Alcohol Use
5 MINUTE READ
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KIDS FOR LIFE’S CHALLENGES.
KIDS FOR LIFE’S CHALLENGES.
How Do I Look Out for My Teen’s Health?
Decisions your teen makes now can impact them for life. Spotting these warning signs can help you guide your teen towards healthy choices.
How Do I Look Out for My Teen’s Health?
Decisions your teen makes now can impact them for life. Spotting these warning signs can help you guide your teen towards healthy choices.
What Does a Problem Look Like?
It can be tough to tell the difference between normal teen behavior and signs of a problem. The following signs can help you spot problems before they get out of control.
Signs of Alcohol or Drug Use
Behavior or Mood Changes
Restlessness, nervousness, paranoia, irritability, defensiveness, or a lack of interest in appearance or activities.
Different Friend Groups
Switching friends or being reluctant to introduce you to new friends.
Problems at school or home
Poor attendance, drop in grades, secretive or suspicious behaviours, or rebelling against rules.
Unexplained Need for Money
Mysterious spending, always needing money, missing valuable items.
Physical or Mental Wellness Consequences
Slurred speech, lack of coordination, disorientation, memory lapses or trouble concentrating, or symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, bloody noses, teeth clenching or sweating.
Changes to appetite
Stimulants, such as nicotine from cigarettes or vaping, can reduce appetite. Cannabis can lead to an increase in appetite.
Household Red Flags
Finding alcohol in your teen’s room, cigarette butts or vape pods in the trash, missing household products or prescription medicine bottles.Tips from Parents Like You: Small Signs
For more, visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Partnership™ for Drug-Free Kids.
Stop Problems Before They Happen
2 MINUTE READ
Keep Your Teen Close
Staying involved in your teen’s life has the added benefit of letting you know what they’re doing. Sharing meals together, or volunteering at school or sports are good ways to have conversations in natural settings. Make time to be together, have conversations as a family, and ask questions often.
Check In
When you know what’s going on in your teen’s life, it’s easier to tell when things are changing or going wrong. Know your teen’s schedule. Ask how scheduled activities went. Get to know their friends, and talk with their friend’s parents. Staying connected keeps you in the know.
Set Expectations
While your teens deserve your trust, they also deserve your commitment to helping them stay on track and making good decisions. Say rules out loud, so you know your teen knows them, and be consistent in how you enforce them. Set a curfew, and make sure it is followed.
Limit Access
Don’t give your teen access to substances. Refuse to give them alcohol, and ask their friend’s parents to do the same. If you keep alcohol, prescription medications or cannabis in your home, keep them securely locked up somewhere your teen does not have access to.