How Do You Talk to Your Kids and Discourage Them from Using Drugs, If You’ve Done Drugs?

How do you talk to your kids and discourage them from using drugs, if you’ve done drugs?

Every child in America is at risk of using drugs, regardless of race, ethnicity, or economic status, but despite being completely aware of these facts, parents are still reluctant to talk to their kids about drugs for one, big reason. We’re afraid we’ll be asked that inevitable and uncomfortable question: “Mom, Dad….did you guys ever do drugs?” The long pause will follow, the air will suddenly become thick, our mouths will get dry, our palms sweaty and a bit of panic will set in. But, we have to remember this isn’t about us, it isn’t about what we did or didn’t do. It’s about what our kids are either going to do, or not going to do and the fact that we’ve “been there, done that” may actually work in our favor.

Should we lie? Never. Our kids deserve openness and honesty, but, we also have to be careful about how much we tell them. Many experts recommend that we give an honest answer-or no answer at all, and they’re right. I truly believe that honesty is always the best policy, plus, we don’t want to risk losing our credibility if our kids find out the truth about our past from someone else. It’s better to own up to it, to use what we’ve learned and how we’ve learned, to our advantage.

Getting our kids to understand the point we’re trying to make is important. We have to say what we mean, no beating around the bush. Telling them straight up, “I don’t want you to ever use drugs” is going to get their attention right off the bat, but having a list of reasons why is going to have an even bigger effect. Drugs are a fact of life in our culture, from celebrities, to friends and family, even from our own experiences, we’ve all seen too many examples of how drugs have destroyed lives. We have to tell them that.

I wish my mom would’ve sat down with me and said “Look, my experience with drugs isn’t a guarantee that yours will be the same. Drugs affect everyone in a...