Читать книгу A Parent's Guide to Substance Abuse and Addiction - Kellena Page - Страница 2
ОглавлениеA Parent's Guide to Substance Abuse and Addiction
by
Kellena Page
Copyright 2013 Kellena Page,
All rights reserved.
2nd edition, updated 2013
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0953-5
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my husband, Todd Page, for coming up with the idea for an ebook, brainstorming ideas with me, creating the title, and offering his wise advice. I would also like to thank Chelsea Fielder-Jenks for doing the extensive and necessary time consuming research required to provide the important information contained within this book.
Introduction
My husband and I were confident that we were prepared for the day when our children came to us asking questions about alcohol and drugs. However, the first time that our 13 year old started pummeling us with questions, about 15 minutes into the conversation, we discovered how much we didn’t know.
“Is pot addictive, Mom? And is it really that bad for you? I’ve heard that it’s healthier for you than alcohol. Is it? And what causes meth mouth? Will you go to jail if you’re caught with a small amount of pot? What if it’s not yours and you just happen to be around it? If you get pulled over after smoking pot but you haven’t had anything to drink, can you still get a DUI since they can’t test your breath? What happens if you refuse to submit to a drunk driving test? How does addiction change your brain? What causes one person to become an addict but not another? If you get a DUI or drug conviction, does that mean that you can never get into college or get a good job? Is it true that cigarettes are more addictive than heroin?”
We didn’t know the answers to any of these questions. My son’s disappointment in our evasive answers and shrugging shoulders was clear. He already knew that he was not supposed to abuse alcohol or use drugs but he was curious and wanted facts and we were doing a lousy job of providing them.
I ran to the computer and diligently looked on the Internet for answers, only to discover just how scattered this seemingly basic information is. Nowhere did I find a single comprehensive source that simply provided basic and necessary facts about substance abuse and addiction. Instead, I found plenty of misinformation, overwhelmingly large books that focused on either alcohol or drugs but not both, lots of books on how to recover from addiction, and articles that came across as preachy while advocating complete abstinence. It became clear that in order to obtain the answers to my son’s questions, a significant amount of time and research was in order. With as much difficulty as I was having searching for answers, I knew that other parents had to be experiencing the same frustration.
Because we believe that that it is essential for all parents and teens to have a solid education in this area, my husband and I decided to create our own comprehensive guide. Extensive research was conducted under my direction and the result is this book, full of basic information that all parents should know and share with their teens. Every teenager and parent that has read this book has expressed surprise about how much they learned and dismay at how misinformed they were. Arming your kids with knowledge about substance abuse and addiction will not only enable them to make better choices but will also open a vital pathway of communication between you and your kids as they navigate their teenage years and beyond.
