Troubled Teens Resources

Teen age drug abuse is said to begin with the introduction of what has been termed as “gateway drugs.” A gateway drug is the introductory drug that opens the door to further drug exploration. While it is true that many teens at risk do not experiment with more than marijuana, statistics indicate that the introduction of any drug experience to an at-risk teen typically leads to exploring harder drugs.

Yet, getting that lesson across to a troubled teen is often a futile effort. Armed with the arrogance of youth, teens often view their parents warnings as dramatic scare tactics. That is why sometimes it is best for teenagers to hear from other teenagers.

Connect With Kids is a site that provides a number of educational tools to schools and parents. Sitting together as a family and watching a DVD, such as the recommended ‘Gateway‘, where teenagers discuss their experiences with drugs, followed by a frank discussion with your teens afterwards, can be the beginning of an honest dialog.

“Starting a conversation with your kids about teenagers and smoking or drinking isn’t easy. No matter what they’ve already heard about teenagers and drugs in school, you’re going to sound “uncool.” They don’t want to hear how one risk-taking behavior leads to others, or how they can get hooked on nicotine. So how do you talk to your kids about smoking and drugs or about teenagers and alcohol in a way they will listen?

Watch Gateway together and your kids will open up after hearing the real-life stories of Eric Volan and Andrew Wolpa - good kids from loving families who know first-hand about the dangers of teenagers and drugs. Friends since they were seven years old, both tried drugs in the 8th grade and one ended up a full-blown addict.”