Should Kids Know About Parent’s Past Drug Use?
A recent study, published in the Journal of Human Communication Research, shows that disclosing any experiences parents have had with drug in the past to their children is not a good idea. Parents who experimented with hard or mild drug use in their teenage or young adult years shouldn’t bring it up with their kids according to the researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who surveyed 561 middle school students on talks they had had with their parents about drinking, smoking and marijuana. Interestingly, the study indicated kids were less likely to think that drugs are bad if they know parents had a past usage of drugs.
However, the study’s lead author, Jennifer Kam, made a point to say “We are not recommending that parents lie to their …children about their own past drug use.” Rather, “we are suggesting that parents should focus on talking to their kids about the negative consequences of drug use, how to avoid offers, family rules against use, that they disapprove of use, and others who have gotten in trouble from using.” Further, it’s also worth pointing out that it’s never too late to turn a life around, and effective treatment can help rescue someone from drug addiction.