After a national survey concerning parents’ opinions about their children’s drug use, researcher Bernard Biermann, MD, PhD, of the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital reports a disquieting result: these grown-ups are not entirely aware of their offspring’s social behavior. It is commonly known that substance use or abuse is often the result of peer pressure or emotional disruption. However harmless and transitory the matter may be, it appears that many parents refuse to believe that the child they have raised can sometimes stray from their strong moral values and give in to temptation. Only 10% of the parents involved in the poll believed their children have used alcohol in the last 12 months and about half that percentage believed they have smoked marijuana. However, many more believed teenagers (other than their sons and daughters) are using these substances. As it turns out, about half of the children surveyed said to have drunk alcohol and 28% of them admitted to having smoked marijuana. Bierman suggests a more direct approach to the matter – communication – inform your child about the risks involved. Speaking for WebMD, he says: ‘Kids who report learning about the risks of drugs and alcohol from their parents are half as likely to try them.’
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