what to do and say to a 16 year old daughter who smoke weed

In 2014, Colorado voters in the The states passed a landmark law legalizing the sale and buy of marijuana. Fast-frontward to 2020 and more than 40 states have laws legalizing marijuana is some form, including several states that have made possession and recreational apply legal. Canada legalized marijuana in 2018 and like movements are underway in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and other nations. Many parents have wondered what this means for their children's future. Every bit a resident of Colorado, I have been inundated with questions from concerned parents wondering not but how to broach this topic with their kids, but how to frame their responses and keep kids healthy and prophylactic.

Kids this historic period may think they already know all the facts based upon information passed through peer groups, but just equally with sex activity and alcohol, many times their information is just fake.

Watching an illegal substance become legal and available for sale is an unusual occurrence in modern mean solar day society. No generation since the days of prohibition can think this sort of transition from illegal to legal, so it's understandable that at that place are fears and concerns surrounding the legalization of marijuana. Like most issues parents are forced to confront, this topic, regardless of how one feels about information technology, can serve as a wonderful spring board for parents to discuss the reality of substance use and abuse in our culture.

Start and foremost, it's important for parents and kids to understand what the legalization of marijuana means for all of us. Rules and laws vary widely from state to state, merely information technology's of import to note that the employ of marijuana is considered a substance reserved for adults. In my country, Colorado, the law does not permit anyone nether 21 to possess or eat marijuana and it is illegal for all individuals to bulldoze while under the influence of marijuana. On the U.Southward. federal level, the constabulary is still the aforementioned, pregnant that marijuana is still illegal. In Canada, the legal age to employ marijuana may vary past province, but is likely to be age xviii in many places. While these details may seem unimportant, they are critical facts to go along in mind when yous begin the discussion with your child about marijuana use.

When you talk over any difficult topic with your kid, the best place to begin is educating them with the best facts and data you lot can discover. First a reckoner search with your child to explore what cannabis is and its effects on the body tin can exist a great place to start. For instance, y'all can uncover facts such equally how the chemicals in marijuana touch the torso, the developing brain of a teen or pre-teen, judgment, sleep, and overall wellness. Like with alcohol, yous can tell your child that marijuana is a mind-altering substance that can accept negative consequences for all people, but especially for teenagers who are still developing physically and emotionally. Yous tin can assign your child the "homework" of finding ane or two articles that discuss, from a medical perspective, how marijuana affects the brain and what the side effects can be when used. Use these articles as a springboard for discussing marijuana together.

If you are against legalizing marijuana, having this conversation with your kid may be easy. If yous are in support of legalization, or are currently using marijuana yourself, information technology may be harder to encourage your child to encounter the downside of marijuana use. Keep in mind that regardless of your personal feelings about marijuana employ and legalization, it is even so illegal for people under 21 to employ marijuana, even if information technology is legal in your state. This knowledge should guide you in what information you decide to impart to your child.

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Next, continue in listen the age of your kid when discussing marijuana. For younger children (elementary age), giving information on a demand-to-know basis can be best. For older kids (middle school, high school age), helping sort fact from fiction about what marijuana is and what its effects are is useful. Your child may protestation, stating that they "already know all about information technology", but don't permit them off the hook that hands. Kids this age may think they already know all the facts based upon information passed through peer groups, only but as with sex and booze, many times their information is only fake. Begin the conversation by asking, "Okay, and so tell me what you know about marijuana". Permit your child talk, uninterrupted, until they tell you all they know. If some of their information is incorrect, before supplying them with the right information, ask them the post-obit questions:

"I'one thousand curious how you got that idea nearly marijuana?"

"I hear you maxim that marijuana isn't that bad for you because John said it's legal, but where do you call back he's getting that information?"

"I know a lot of people recollect that marijuana isn't as bad for you equally booze only at that place'south a bit more than to it than that. I call up we should talk almost it."

Your child may have some difficult questions for you about marijuana use and you should be prepared to reply them as honestly and intelligently equally possible. Beneath are some possible comments/questions you may face and some responses yous might discover useful.

1. If marijuana is legal it's not bad for me

Explicate to your child that this isn't necessarily truthful, that there are a number of substances that are legal such every bit alcohol, tobacco, and narcotics, just also potentially dangerous or fifty-fifty life threatening if used or abused. Point out that condom issues for all legal substances is always a concern because y'all never know how a drug will affect you lot. We know for certain that substance use among kids is never good due to the brain yet developing. Yous can say, "Marijuana use will bear on your memory, your coordination, your ability to focus, and how y'all make decisions. The all-time way to maintain command and make decisions is to be clear-headed and not under the influence of marijuana."

2. Alcohol kills a ton of people, only marijuana seems safer in comparison

Anyone tin can die from using a substance, legal or not, depending on how and when it's used. It's true that a lot of people die each year from driving while under the influence, alcohol poisoning and from smoking cigarettes, so you should stress why yous don't want your kid using alcohol or tobacco either. Indicate out that while the headlines may not exist reporting deaths that occur direct after marijuana employ, it doesn't mean that information technology is a safer substance to use. Reiterate that each fourth dimension someone smokes pot it affects their conclusion-making skills and inhibitions are reduced, which in turn can lead to poor choices that may be dangerous. The most important point to make here is that all substances will bear on your child in some negative way and no one substance is necessarily safer than another.

3. Did you ever smoke marijuana?

This question may be one of the nearly dreaded questions to come from a child to a parent. The answer really depends on how you parent your child and what your behavior are around disclosure. While some parents feel they simply cannot or should not exist true to owning upwardly to a substance using by, for those that practise information technology'south of import to follow a few guidelines. Outset, go on your response short and to the point without providing too many details. Saying something like, "When I was in high school someone offered me pot and because I wasn't potent plenty to say no I tried it". Yous can and then give some details about how it fabricated you feel, emphasizing that in hindsight it dumb certain aspects of your life, such as your ability to call back clearly, lose interest in activities, trouble with the law, etc. Try not to get bogged down in your past, but focus instead on what y'all learned and what you lot know now as an adult, as well your business for your kid and his/her future. If your child says, "Well you used information technology, so I should be able to too," you tin point out that but because you made a fault in the by doesn't mean you want your child to do the aforementioned. Frame your disclosure as yous being honest in trying to help your child avoid the pitfalls of substance use, non as your giving permission to begin using.

iv. What practice I exercise if I'yard tempted?

Many parents feel that their kids won't come to them if they're tempted to use marijuana because they human activity aristocratic and don't disclose much information to them in the first place. Don't let this normal teen beliefs fool you lot into believing that your child won't want your help if they are confronted with the urge to utilise marijuana or other substances. Kids deed unconcerned and are uncommunicative considering they're uncertain how to talk to parents and peers, non because they don't value your communication. Make information technology very clear to your kids that you are always open to talking to them at a moment'southward discover if they feel pressured or tempted to say 'yes' to marijuana. Let them know that if they are at a party or a friend'southward firm and marijuana is present, they can call yous to be picked up regardless of the time or day. Also, while you may think your child knows how you lot experience well-nigh using marijuana, make sure to limited what your expectations are effectually substance use while they are teen-agers. You lot can tell your child, "We await you non to use any substances because we know how harmful they can be to your wellness. If something comes upwardly and you lot need help, nosotros're here for you no thing what."

In improver to stating that y'all will be there for them, boost your child's confidence past going over some responses when this happens. Well-nigh teens (and adults besides) rarely have the capacity to pass up a request when someone asks something of us, so nosotros oft find ourselves proverb 'yes', when we actually are scared to say 'no'. Having a snappy comeback set up can practise wonders for a child's cocky-esteem and brand them more than confident when they demand to say 'no'. Some examples:

"Nah, I'thou trying to quit" (and then changing the subject).

"My parents tin can smell that stuff a mile abroad. They'd impale me, dude."

"I've got and then much to practice tomorrow (due east.g., sports result, studying, musical prove). Can't practice it."

Like so many topics that involve danger, having a ane-time conversation with your child simply won't cut it. This is a conversation you lot should be having starting in your child'southward pre-teen years and extending all throughout high school and even college. Letting your kid know that you are with them every pace of the style and continuing this chat at each stage of their development will become a long mode in keeping your kid substance free.

Related Content:
Teens and Privacy: Should I Spy on My Child?
When You Suspect Your Teen Is Drinking: What Consequences Should You Give?

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Source: https://www.empoweringparents.com/article/how-to-talk-to-your-child-about-marijuana-4-responses-for-parents/

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