- March 28, 2024
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It’s no secret that substances in schools continue to be a hidden danger for families, but that doesn’t mean that parents can’t get in front of the issue.
Officer 1st Class Carlos Hernandez, of the Windermere Police Department, who spent 11 years in drug control with a special enforcement team at the Casselberry Police Department, said gateway drugs such as alcohol and marijuana still are prevalent today.
“It’s pretty easy to conceal in your backpacks — I think parents should do random checks of their children,” Hernandez said. “Parents were sometimes not aware that their child was doing that.”
Other substances such as K2 or Spice — a synthetic marijuana — isn’t as common as it was in past years, he said, adding that vaping is now the major trend.
Some research and careful monitoring by parents goes a long way in preventing their children from getting their hands on it.
HAVE THE TALK
“Getting more involved and tuned in to what kids are into as a parent would be the best advice,” Hernandez said. “Most of our kids have smart phones, and they have a lot of access to a lot of information that isn’t being supervised. Be tuned in (about) who are their friends. Talk to your children a little more and get in tune. Sometimes, we get busy with our daily lives and kind of forget about that.”
Jesse Radloff is a licensed mental health counselor and care coordinator at Orlando Health South Seminole Hospital. He said males are at a higher risk than females when it comes to substance abuse disorders, though it does affect both.
Radloff added the earlier someone starts using a substance, the higher probability it will follow that child into adulthood.
“It doesn’t mean that if you smoke or drink in high school, you’re going to be an alcoholic when you grow up, but if you smoke and drink in high school there’s a higher likelihood that it will happen later in life,” Radloff said.
Abusing a substance such as marijuana or alcohol usually stems from a social group. High school is a completely different place for students today compared to when their parents were there, but peer pressure still remains, Radloff said.
“What your social group is doing, you are more likely to reflect,” he said. “If you hang out with a bunch of people who party, odds are, you are going to do that. Although it does happen, there aren’t too many adolescents that just crawl into a bottle and hide in their room. It tends to happen more in the social context.
“The biggest thing is raising your kids to have a spine and some integrity and to have a mindset that they can stand up to peer pressure — and engender as early as you can open, clear lines of communication.”
It’s just as important to speak up yourself as a parent, Radloff said.
“I’ve seen way too many parents that are afraid of their kids,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to have the talk. Ask them point-blank, ‘Hey, I’ve noticed your grades have come down, you’ve become kind of withdrawn and you’re not hanging out with the friends that you used to. What’s going on?’ If you’ve laid the foundation beforehand of trust and open communication, then they’re more likely to either admit that they’re using or open up about the types of things that are going on around them that’s contributing to the use.”
SEEK HELP
Radloff also stressed that if children are battling an addiction, don’t be afraid to give them the help they need — and don’t freak out if there is something going on, he said.
“There’s a big stigma of, ‘Oh my God, if I take my kid to get help, they’re not going to be able to get into college or it’s going to make me look bad socially because I’m the one that failed as a parent,’” Radloff said. “No, don’t buy into the stigma. Seek help. You wouldn’t fault a diabetic for taking their insulin or going to their doctor every month. It should be just as much of a non-issue for seeking mental health and substance-abuse treatment. That goes for kids and adults.”
Anyone can call 211 to gain access to an entire database of services such as substance-abuse counseling.