3 Reasons Kids Abuse Drugs and Alcohol

There are many factors that affect the use of drugs and alcohol among teens in today's society. In my observation, there are three main things that negatively impact a young person's decisions regarding drugs and alcohol.

1. Their friends are doing it.
And we're not just talking peer pressure here. Pressure is a factor, but even more important is the fact that teens will have access to drugs and alcohol through their friends. The other issue is that it's not much fun to hang out with a group of friends who are drunk or high if you are not in the same altered state. It's a subtle, but powerful, form of peer pressure.

2. Their parents or family are doing it.
If parents drink or do drugs, the likelihood is that the children will have the opportunity to access drugs and alcohol. Children are likely to emulate their parents and if they see them drinking or smoking pot (even in moderation) they will often pick up the same habits.
Unfortunately, kids don't always have the maturity to see that their parents practice moderation. When the child picks up the habit, it can have very bad results.

3. They don't have other options
Most kids actually do have other options, but it's very hard to see them if the bad choices are easily accessible. If drugs and alcohol are the options your friends and family are choosing, it's pretty hard to veer off that path. If options likes sports or other activities are available, kids will often to choose to do something productive. If all their friends are participating in paintball tournaments, the likelihood is that the teen will choose to do paintball activities rather than sit around drinking or doing drugs by themselves.

Of course, once an addiction has been started, it is much more difficult to make good choices. The trick is to keep kids active and help them find friends and activities that don't give them access to drugs or alcohol. And I realize that can be a real trick sometimes. But I think it's worth working towards if it means we can keep kids clean and sober.

For more good influences and tools for keeping kids clean and sober, check out this link.

Rebekah Engle is a teacher in an alternative high school. She is very involved in her community and writes a local blog called Look What's Happening in Salem.