How to Help Teen to Cope with Addiction

Parents can help teens cope with addiction if they adopt lenient approach. Go through the following tips to help your teen fight against the addiction effectively. The adolescence or the teenage years are very vital from the point of view of growing up for the teen and parenting for the parents. This is a period when the character acquires shape and teens learn and imbibe a lot from their immediate environment. If the teen happens to be in the wrong company and there is a peer pressure to try out drugs or any other sort of undesirable practices, as parent your responsibility doubles up in helping the teen come out of the environment and at the same time revive or inculcate best practices again in his persona. Addiction can be of many forms. As you help your teen cope with it, there are few important points for parents to remember: In this articleAcknowledge the AddictionCommunicate With Your TeenBe Mature, Share Love Treat the Teen as an IndividualAcknowledge the Addiction This is the very primary point. Many parents waste a lot of vital time living in denial that their teen is in any way related to drugs, obscene material or substance abuse. Either they nurture a wrong notion on their teen or they believe that denying the fact will also some way negate it. This is a wrong approach. You are losing out precious time where you could have actually helped the teen come out of the addiction. Communicate With Your Teen Always make it a point that the channel of communication is open. The teen should never feel awkward or hesitate in communicating with you. Build a relationship where you can talk to your teen casually, you can joke around, discuss thoughts ideas, be playful, chide him when necessary, be firm and yet, behave like a parent whom the kid is supposed to listen to and respect. These are attitudes that you need to cultivate early. When the teen is in any sort of addiction, you need to talk to him and understand his thoughts and point of view as to what has led him towards the addiction and what are his present feelings about it. Let him know that you are aware of the addiction, but remember; your approach should be of help from an authority, on whom the teen can confide and share his thoughts, and not of rebuke. Be Mature, Share Love As a parent it is very difficult to deal with the fact that your teen is addicted to some unhealthy habit. But since you are the mature individual it is required of you to deal with the situation with a great deal of care. Just because your teen is pursuing a bad habit, it does not mean that you will stop loving him. Teens are emotionally very vulnerable. They develop this feeling that once they are caught having an addiction, which they are well aware is a bad and undesired habit, their parents will not love them anymore. This makes them feel further insecure and they fall in the pit of addiction even more. Show your genuine love and concern, this will assure him that he is cared for nonetheless and he will be open to listen to you. Treat the Teen as an Individual It is important that as you try to help the teen cope with addiction and come out of it, you treat the teen with respect, respect his individuality. Do not make the mistake of rebuking him for his wrong choices or actions. As you talk to him try to understand the weak points or moments that have led him to this addiction and then work towards it through professional help if necessary. But at first, you must respect the teen and not make him feel anything lesser. Finally, you need to gather all the required details of the addiction. This can be done through proper observation of the teen’s behaviour, by communication with him openly, from his peer group and sometimes from his teachers. But do not let mistrust guide you in this endeavour, take the teen in confidence that you are working towards a common goal that is, coming out of the addiction as it is a bad habit. Do not make the teen feel embarrassed and ashamed in the process, that it affects his self esteem and feels down and insecure. Provide him with love and support so as to build the will power and fight against the addiction effectively.

Parents can help teens cope with addiction if they adopt lenient approach. Go through the following tips to help your teen fight against the addiction effectively.

The adolescence or the teenage years are very vital from the point of view of growing up for the teen and parenting for the parents. This is a period when the character acquires shape and teens learn and imbibe a lot from their immediate environment. If the teen happens to be in the wrong company and there is a peer pressure to try out drugs or any other sort of undesirable practices, as parent your responsibility doubles up in helping the teen come out of the environment and at the same time revive or inculcate best practices again in his persona. Addiction can be of many forms. As you help your teen cope with it, there are few important points for parents to remember:

Acknowledge the Addiction

This is the very primary point. Many parents waste a lot of vital time living in denial that their teen is in any way related to drugs, obscene material or substance abuse. Either they nurture a wrong notion on their teen or they believe that denying the fact will also some way negate it. This is a wrong approach. You are losing out precious time where you could have actually helped the teen come out of the addiction.

Communicate With Your Teen

Always make it a point that the channel of communication is open. The teen should never feel awkward or hesitate in communicating with you. Build a relationship where you can talk to your teen casually, you can joke around, discuss thoughts ideas, be playful, chide him when necessary, be firm and yet, behave like a parent whom the kid is supposed to listen to and respect. These are attitudes that you need to cultivate early.

When the teen is in any sort of addiction, you need to talk to him and understand his thoughts and point of view as to what has led him towards the addiction and what are his present feelings about it. Let him know that you are aware of the addiction, but remember; your approach should be of help from an authority, on whom the teen can confide and share his thoughts, and not of rebuke.

Be Mature, Share Love

As a parent it is very difficult to deal with the fact that your teen is addicted to some unhealthy habit. But since you are the mature individual it is required of you to deal with the situation with a great deal of care. Just because your teen is pursuing a bad habit, it does not mean that you will stop loving him. Teens are emotionally very vulnerable. They develop this feeling that once they are caught having an addiction, which they are well aware is a bad and undesired habit, their parents will not love them anymore. This makes them feel further insecure and they fall in the pit of addiction even more. Show your genuine love and concern, this will assure him that he is cared for nonetheless and he will be open to listen to you.

Treat the Teen as an Individual

It is important that as you try to help the teen cope with addiction and come out of it, you treat the teen with respect, respect his individuality. Do not make the mistake of rebuking him for his wrong choices or actions. As you talk to him try to understand the weak points or moments that have led him to this addiction and then work towards it through professional help if necessary. But at first, you must respect the teen and not make him feel anything lesser.

Finally, you need to gather all the required details of the addiction. This can be done through proper observation of the teen’s behaviour, by communication with him openly, from his peer group and sometimes from his teachers. But do not let mistrust guide you in this endeavour, take the teen in confidence that you are working towards a common goal that is, coming out of the addiction as it is a bad habit. Do not make the teen feel embarrassed and ashamed in the process, that it affects his self esteem and feels down and insecure. Provide him with love and support so as to build the will power and fight against the addiction effectively.