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Many parents worry how their kids will do during their teen years. Unfortunately, research shows they have reason to be concerned.
Because young people’s brains work differently than those of adults. In addition, they are bombarded by input telling them how to feel better simply by taking a drink or using a drug. The teenage years (or earlier) are when substance abuse problems normally begin, so this is something parents who care about preventing addiction in their kids need to understand.
Understanding the Teenage Brain
The differences in teenagers’ brains show up in their behavior. They are more:
- Impressionable and prone to peer pressure.
- Self-conscious and self-centered as they search for their identity in life.
- Impulsive and emotional, not thinking as clearly as adults when under stress.
- More prone to the effects of drugs and to ongoing addiction.
Different parts of the brain develop at different ages. For example, the nucleus accumbens is well-developed early on for teenagers. Perhaps not surprisingly, that is the area that seeks pleasure.
Contrast that to the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s “remote control system,” that weighs outcomes, anticipates and assesses risks, forms judgments, and controls impulses. And which is not fully developed until the mid-20s.
Based on this sequence of brain development, what are most teenagers like? They are influenceable and attracted to having fun, and they do not evaluate consequences well. Sound familiar?
Preventing Addiction in Teenagers
Research statistics also highlight the risk of forming addictions during the teenage years.
The Center on Addiction says that only 1 in 25 Americans who started using addictive substances at age 21 or older are addicted versus as many as 1 in 4 who began before age 18. Another of their statistics says:
“90% of people with substance problems began before age 18.”
And the younger they are, the greater the danger. The National Health and Medical Research Council states that kids aged 15 to 17 should delay drinking as long as possible. And that those under 15 should not drink at all, because they are at the most risk of harm.
But parents need to be addressing the issue even earlier than that. By the time kids enter the early teenage years, they have seen:
- 3 alcohol ads per day during the ages of 11 to 14. (Rand Corporation cited on CNBC)
- On American television, about 1 drinking scene every 22 minutes. (Gateway)
- Countless advertisements teaching them how to feel better by taking a pill.
- Friends and schoolmates telling them how cool and fun substances can be.
- Sometimes, a parent who is a frequent drinker. Children with a parent who drinks heavily are 2 or 3 times more likely of becoming a drinker themselves. (CRC Health)
“Kids start to think positively about alcohol at age 9-13.”
With all of that going on, do parents have a chance preventing addiction in teenagers?
Stepping Up To Our Role as Parents
It turns out parents play a critical role in how their teenagers turn out.
The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism supports that view:
“Parents influence whether and when adolescents begin drinking and how their children drink. Research shows that teens and young adults do believe their parents should have a say whether they drink alcohol.”
But what type of parenting style works best?
The National Institute says it’s not being overly authoritarian, nor is it being too permissive or neglectful. It requires a combination of being proactive and balanced so that:
“… parents exert high control and discipline along with high warmth and responsiveness. This combination promotes healthy decision making about alcohol and other potential threats to healthy development.”
Guidance comes from the Children’s MD group of physicians, who write that 80 percent of teens say their parents are the biggest influence on their decision to drink. And the best solution for underage drinking is to talk with our kids, starting as early as possible.
To be the best parent we can be, we can learn to practice the philosophy and practical techniques of Proactive Parenting. That calls for preparation, awareness, connection, education, and the commitment to take positive steps.
It takes effort to protect our kids against addiction. Are your kids worth it?
Question: Are you willing to spend 2 minutes to take a free Teenage Wellness Assessment to learn if your son or daughter may be struggling or in danger, where the risk is coming from, and how you can help?
Action: Use the PACES for Parents online training center to prevent addiction in your teenager and help them lead a happier life.
Photo by C-H-S 
Photo by Find Rehab Centers
