Reply to Drinking and Drugs at Private Schools

Forum Index » Private & Independent Schools

Reply to "Drinking and Drugs at Private Schools - I need advice "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I also have boys. We've always been very open and matter-of-fact about this sort of thing. The two biggest drivers of addiction tend to be 1) a genetic susceptibility to substance abuse - meaning check the family tree; and 2) age of first use. But, we also explained that genetics are not destiny. The brain adapts and changes according to its environment. If a 14 year old kid with a family history of alcohol or drug abuse begins to experiment with drinking and vaping and drugs and so on, that child is likely screwed and will face a lifetime of addiction issues. This is because there is so much going on in the adolescent brain that when you introduce drugs and alcohol to kids who already have a genetic predisposition to addiction, it often rewires the brain and derails normal development.

But if that same 14 year old waits until they're over 21, when the brain is more mature, then generally it will be perfectly safe to have an occasional drink or whatever. Particularly if they've grown up in a safe, loving, and supportive environment. Their family tree might be a disaster, but they won't be because they waited until the brain was more fully developed and over the years they've learned to enjoy and deal with life without resorting to substances to mediate how they feel.

Knock on wood. So far, so good. They know what addiction is and how it can destroy lives. They're both in college now and totally normal. Neither ever drank or used drugs or vaped in high school. But in college they seem to be pretty normal. The oldest has an occasional beer. The youngest doesn't like it. Neither do any drugs. They're both gym rats and runners and extremely fit. Neither has displayed any proclivity towards substance abuse. And I think that's entirely because we really explained how vulnerable they were to addiction given the family tree. And we drilled that early - like beginning of middle school. There's no avoiding drugs or alcohol in any high school. All you can give them is the information they need to make their own decisions.   [/quote]

+1
We have always tried to have this conversation in a way that doesn’t demonize peers or even responsible substance use as adults, but that highlights the two important points above - age of first use and genetics. Being exposed to their alcoholic family members over the years has been a powerful deterrent.

Like pp, ours are also serious athletes, and they are very into taking care of their bodies. Getting enough protein, rest, that sort of thing. So it is an easy excuse for them to not participate.

OP, all the schools have a subset of this culture. But importantly, they all have a subset that does not want to participate. I’m a HS teacher and have seen that second group actively roll their eyes and such at their peers who recount their drunk weekends. And the second group isn’t the geeky pencil protector kids. They’re normal fun kids. It just seems to have gotten more acceptable to not find drinking to be cool. These kids are also incredibly busy and spend a huge amount of time on homework, extra curriculars, etc. If your child stays busy with school and activities, they can easily find peers who center their social lives around other things.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics