3 Steps You Can Take To Lower A Child's Risk Of Becoming Addicted Later In Life
When you have an addiction, you know how hard the struggle with it can be. Even when you are in recovery, the daily struggle to stay sober can feel like an uphill battle that never ends.
There are many reasons why someone can become addicted to substances. Maybe it is because of genetics. Or maybe the hardships of life have become too hard to deal with. So instead of finding healthy ways to cope, someone will turn to alcohol or drugs to ease their distress.
Knowing everything you do about your own personal addiction, you wonder how you can protect your child or other adolescent from the same heartache. It isn't comfortable to talk about addiction with children. After all, you don't even want them to know about the word or what they could become addicted to. But, if you have close children in your life who are a little older, they more than likely know what is going on.
While it is not easy to talk to kids or teens about addiction, it is important and can help them not become addicted later in life. Even if you do not have an addiction, you can definitely still help reduce the risk of addiction in children. Here are three steps you can take to lower a child's risk of addiction later in life.
3 Steps To Lower The Risk Of Addiction In Children At Later Stages
Help Them Learn Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy is the skill of trusting in yourself to succeed and to know how to regulate your emotions and thoughts. It helps to build a foundation for getting through the most challenging times of life.
Self-efficacy is important for a child to learn as early in life as possible because it prepares them for times ahead that can test their resiliency or possibly start their path to using substances. You can teach self-efficacy to children by:
Give your kids tasks that give them the experience of learning how to try something, doing it, failing at it, then trying again until they succeed. It helps them build confidence.
Show them optimism. If they fail at something, don't be too harsh, but encourage them to try again. Let them know that it is okay to fail at something and that it doesn't have to be perfect.
Don't use general praises, but instead, be very specific. If they did well on a test in school, instead of saying, "Good job!" you can frame it as, "Great job, I am proud of you for studying hard and preparing for the test."
Talk To Them Early About It
As parents, guardians, or family members of children, we want to try and shield them from as much of the world as we can. We don't want to introduce them to anything that could hurt them, after all. However, some topics are too important to just ignore.
Talking to children early in life about addiction may not seem like the best idea. And it certainly is not comfortable to do so. But opening the conversation up early can be a really great thing.
As you are teaching them self-efficacy, you can open up the conversation about addiction. If you struggled with it or do, talk to them generally about it. Encourage them to ask questions or talk about their feelings. You don't have to go into all the specifics, but they'll appreciate your honesty about the subject.
Begin With Yourself
We want to lead by example for our kids. To be the role model in life that we know they need. So if you want to do everything in your power to prevent addiction, start with you.
Show them what it's like to have self-efficacy and confidence in yourself. To deal with life's struggles in a healthier way. If you have an addiction, and are ready to begin the path to recovery or continue on it, you can set an example by getting help.
At Recovery Collective, we specialize in addiction counseling and offer services such as integrative holistic therapy to help those struggling. Connect with us for a consultation or to schedule an appointment.