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I don’t get what all the fuss is about with addiction these days. Maybe other families might have a problem, but our kids would never use drugs. We’re good parents, and we give them just about anything they want.
My Dad drank, and my wife’s family had issues, but we have things under control. My daughter’s new friends smoke pot once in a while, but most kids do, right? When we moved here, she worried about fitting in, but I told her—strongly—no drugs are allowed.
Not in our family!
I don’t think parenting is that complicated. I laid down the rules for our kids, and that should be enough. Now, we just do what feels right without getting into all their drama.
It’s not like we have to worry about raising a drug addict or anything.
Ignoring a Teen’s Downward Trajectory
Our kids are teenagers now, so they’re old enough to decide how they want to live.
Sure, I do the things parents need to do, like getting on them when they don’t get all A’s at school. My daughter’s grades have dropped, and she gets mad when I yell at her, but I expect perfection on the important things. I make it up to her by letting her do what she wants in other areas.
Plus, my wife and I are busy, and we don’t have the energy to worry about our daughter’s feelings. She may have a few emotional issues, but she needs to learn to deal with them. And we go to church most Sundays, so that should be enough to keep her grounded.
She’s just going through a phase, getting in more trouble than before and lying to us sometimes. But she’s mostly just hanging out with her friends somewhere, so it’s nothing we need to worry about.
And if she does make a mistake, I know how to take care of it. And how to keep it quiet so she doesn’t ruin her reputation, because she’s got to get into the right college.
It will work out, and we don’t need any help. I think people who see a counselor or anyone like that must be kind of weak. Plus, what would our friends say if they thought our kid was a screw-up?
Being Oblivious to Raising a Drug Addict
We don’t need to talk about addiction stuff at home, and I imagine they’re educating my daughter about drugs at school. And, even if she does experiment with something, she’ll grow out of it.
I do wish she didn’t get so stressed out when she has a test coming up. Sometimes, I’ll give her one of my Xanax, and it seems to calm her down. I got them from my doctor, so I’m sure they’re fine. And those painkillers she was prescribed when she hurt her knee didn’t cause any problems. I’m not sure what happened to that big bottle she was given, but at least they made her feel better.
The thing that bothers me now is that she’s asking for money all the time. But she doesn’t want to get a job—what teenager does?—so we pretty much give her what she needs.
A while back, she said she wanted to get into music, but I told her that was a waste of time. These days, she’s not all that motivated, and I wish she would set some goals or something. My wife and I talked about whether we need some type of plan to help her out, but that doesn’t seem necessary.
I’m sure our daughter is doing fine. Why worry about all that drug stuff? It can’t happen to us.
Question: Does this story on raising a drug addict give you anything to think about?
Action: Develop a proactive parenting plan to help you do the opposite of the above.
