Topic : 12/19 Generation Rx

Talk to him. Spend time with him. Check out his friends. Know his schedule. Know the parents of the friends with whom he "hangs." Make sure his free time is used for quality things. Kids who have too much time on their hands often make POOR (and sometimes dangerous) choices.

Make a routine of sitting and talking with him daily. Find an activity you can share with him weekly. Develop a strong relationship and trust will grow. Soon, he'll come to you and share things (not like a girl shares, but he'll still share the big stuff).

Don't give him money to blow. Have him earn his money. Then monitor it to see how he spends it. If  you SUSPECT anything, there's probably good cause to suspect. We mothers need to listen to that little voice inside our heads that tells us when something just isn't right.

If his grades are lousy at school and he's uninterested in extracurricula things, he's probably disconnected. With disconnect often comes lonliness, helplessness and the chance that he'll turn to drugs (etc) to make himself feel good.

Again, if you really believe you need a drug test than you should know that you ALREADY have a problem. Even without the test, you can treat the situation as you would if you knew for sure that he were using. Pretend he IS using. What will you do now????   That's exactly what you need to do with your suspicious. Why do you need a test to prove your suspicions. 99% of the time we mothers already know the answer to our questions!

Good luck and God bless. Always remember, if he's using drugs, he's HURTING. And if he's hurting, he NEEDS YOU!

I am not dumb enough to think that ONLY the kids lacking attention turn to drugs. I said "mainly" and I stand by that. There will always be exceptions to every rule. I, too, am raising two kids and both have very different coping skills. One is beautiful (a model), bright, compassionate and atheletic YET she doesn't like herself very much and internalizes everything. The younger one is male, very bright, compassionate and lacking in physical skill, yet he's so self-confident and lights up a room with his presence. BOTH are being raised in this nurturing household, yet both are very different in their means of coping with problems.

Sorry, but the apple usually DOES fall close to the tree. Again, there are exceptions, but as a teacher 99.9% of the troubled kids had TROUBLED parents who came in to save them from their detentions. All we had to do is to look at the parent and we could understand CLEARLY why little Johnny was so mixed up.

I am sure-no I KNOW  that you are a beautiful girl and are very intelligent.  There are other ways of dealing with your stress.  You don't need pills to get you through the day.  Try prayer if you believe(even if you don't).  Ask the Lord for strength, patience, whatever it is that you need.  It nevers hurts to ask, and you won't get what you don't ask for.  Is there anyone(even a little older than you) that you trust enough to discuss how you feel?  I know a lot of the time if I just talk about it to someone, it makes me feel alot better.  Or even keeping a journal, writing can releive stress.  Even if no one ever reads it, it feels good to get it out of your system.  Just remember that you are better than that, you deserve better than that.  I hope you can stop this habit, and find other ways of coping with problems.  Keep your head up!!  You deserve better!!

God Bless,

Regen