Are you observing many behavioral and physical changes in your teen? Are you worried that your teenage child is drinking or using illicit drugs? Relax; you are not the only anxious parent with a teenage child who is worried about the teenage kid compromising his future by making poor choices. At the same time, you cannot ignore if you observe alarming changes in your child which cannot be attributed to regular stress of adolescence.
It is always better to talk to him openly about drugs and their harmful consequences and help him avoid making poor choices on such matters. You can start the conversation as early as possible.
Discuss and prepare your teen to stay away from drug abuse
Preparing the teen for making right choices by avoiding drug abuse is a critical and sensitive task. Therefore, you need to maintain an open communication with the teen. Show your concern by explaining him the bad effects of these unhealthy habits.
Dealing with suspicion of teenage drug abuse
Once you see specific behaviors or trends that indicate drug abuse, you may have no choice but to test your teen to confirm the facts. A variety of home drug testing kits are available in the market - you need little or no experience to use them. Urine tests can detect the presence of a drug in the urine sample for 30 days; saliva tests detect drug abuse on that particular day; and hair drug test kits can detect drug abuse up to 90 days. You can choose the test as required.
Choose a reliable test kit
Once the circumstances demand the use of a drug test, choose a reliable test kit to conduct home drug testing. Prefer FDA approved drug testing kits. Confirm they adhere to SAMHSA cut off levels. Multi-panel test kits that detect the presence of various drugs in the given sample are best to use at home. Choose the right multi-panel test kit. A good test for teenagers is something that tests for Marijuana, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Opiates, Amphetamine and Ecstasy.
Educate yourself about the possible outcomes of the test
Before conducting the test on your teen, you should know how to react on the outcome of the test.
A positive result is surrounded by many issues – the teen may feel guilty, he may even become violent. You need to handle this situation with care. It is better to confirm the initial results using the laboratory tests - there are chances of false positives. On confirming the drug abusing habit, talk to him and explain him about your concern. Support him and help him get rid of the habit. Find ways to control and treat the associated problems with the help of the family physician or experts from drug rehabilitation centers.
On testing negative, praise your teen and encourage him to follow healthy lifestyle. Also, ask him to avoid peer pressure and stay away from harmful substances.
Home drug testing kits are specially designed for parents - simple and easy to use. They are very helpful in controlling and preventing this destructive habit in teens.
By: Nate Rodnay
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