question for parents

[theknuckler]

Is one of your biggest fears as a parent, is that of your kids doing heroin?
A radio station in relation to bon jovis daugher ODing on heroin (http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...ughter-1436181 ) said that its every parents worst nightmare. I responded that ''I don't think any parents think their children are stupid enough to do heroin" and subsequently got called an idiot. I would agree worrying about your children is natural obviously, but heroin I don't think is up there, at least not for me.

[Jack Schitt]

As a parent of 4, 2 boys and 2 girls... there are all sorts of things to worry about. As of now, the oldest of my kids is still a very young teen. We have tried to instill certain values, and tried to give them the ability to make good choices. With the way the world is today, you really have to be aware of what is going on in your childs life, but if you smother them they could very well rebel. It's a delicate line. As far as your question, drugs are an issue of course. Heroin is now pretty cheap. There is a fairly affluent community in this area called Lancaster. The high school is referred to as "Heroin High". The local jail is full of young white kids.... girls in particular, from suburban areas. It never used to be that way until the last 5 years or so. Heroin is cheaper than Oxy and those kind of things. I was no angel. I went through some rough patches as a teen, but the one thing I never got involved in was drugs. I remembered that Len Bias case where he died from using cocaine one time (allegedly). That always stuck with me. There is a strong anti-drug presence in schools thses days as well. I just hope my kids make good choices, but if they stumble, we will be there to help them get back on track. It's really all you can do.

[Flyers2001]

Luckily i have some young kids, 4 year old both and 18 month old princess. I do plenty of worrying now. When it comes to the future I don't know if Herion speciffically will be on the list. I don't want to say everyone will experiment, but a large portion will and I would want to beleive that my kids are not. The odds are not in my favor. A lot of my specific worries will depend where we live and where we are finacially. Drugs come with a price and a lot is telling by the area you live in vs. the drug of choice.

Besides weed, I would say prescription pills are the biggest drug of choice for todays youth. They are the easiest to get and can be highly addictive to developing teen brains. I think prescription drugs will continue to be a problem and a fear for my kids heading forward.

As Jack says most of us have experiemented or had our struggles and we can only hope to pass our experiences and struggles off as a learning experience for ourselves and our children.

[ValJamesRules]

I am not a parent, but I would be more concerned with pills. Especially pain meds. They are way too easy to come by and incredibly addictive. My parents did not shelter me, and I only smoked weed and drank cheap beer. I also learned from my friends mistakes.

There were two dudes I knew growing up that did smack, they both OD'd on the first day of our senior year in HS. I never touched that sh1t. I also looked at how many lives of rock stars and famous people it ruined.

Being with one of my closest friends during a bad trip made me never want to do acid.

Crack was very easily obtained in the town where I grew up, but I never wanted to be a crack head.

I guess you just hope that your kids listen to what you tell them and hopefully don't get too fuked up. I say make them aware of the dangers of all that stuff instead of trying to protect them.

Lastly, to me, cigarettes are the gateway drug. How many people smoked a cig before doing anything else?

[theknuckler]

Thanks for your responses guys. Very good points brought up, it's just weird because I've never in my life ever thought of doing heroin, and I never heard of it being around, and still dont. (small community, but I'm sure if you really wanted some you could find some eventually, or it's all around me and I'm oblivious)

Jack-

Heroin is cheaper than Oxy and those kind of things

I remember seeing a graph somewhere a few days ago, and was surprised to see how cheap it is. Cheaper and more pure apparently than in the past? interesting stuff. I have a friend who got into Oxy's (smoking them) and it's led him to multiple stints of rehab, and it's a damn shame because he's such a nice guy, but his willpower to stick with it once he's detoxed has let him down. he lets himself fall back into the same group of ''friends'' and the problem just goes in a circle again and again... hopefully he'll be able to stay clean soon

Val- I don't believe that gateway drug stuff, at least not in the way it's presented. that the high of a cig or marij. isn't enough so you move on to crack? It would seem to me if the high of marij. wasnt enough you'd just smoke more of it.

Philly- Yes, experimenting happens. for me I don't know anyone who's tried heroin or crack. I know a few who have tried coke, a few oxys (one mentioned above), and i think everyone I know for the most part has done dope and alcohol (apparently in the U.S. dope is slang for heroin? in canada its marijuana)

in any event, i think we agree educating our young and future young is the best thing to do

[Killah_punk]

Parents Just Don't Understand - YouTube

[AvsFanatic]

As an alcoholic and parent of a 13 yr old I worry more about alcohol then drugs. However, since I've been sober for all but the first year and a half of his life I have talked to him about all of it since he was little. He knows he has a long bloodline of alcoholics on both sides of his family and realizes his risk for following footsteps is high.

I've never used heroin but have tried most other drugs, usually after being under the influence of booze. I have always been up front with him about my past mistakes and hopefully he will think before he acts. Peer pressure from friends is a concern along with the RnR path he seeks. I always try and point out drunk/high people to him so he sees what their actions look like. So far I trust him not to use any mind altering substances as hes a good kid with some pretty lofty goals. He also knows he be a damn idiot if he thought he could slip one past me as I know all the signs. Drugs and alcohol are a regular topic of conversation and he knows that I'll shoot him straight about any of it.

I try and be open, honest, and lead by example. He knows right from wrong and where he wants his life to lead. He knows drugs and alcohol will only **** those plans up. Do I expect him to slip up? Probably, but I'll be there to get him back on path. Kids are gonna experiment, but if their parents don't give a fuk, or are oblivious(my mom was) their chances of abuse will go up greatly.

I never pass up a chance to talk about stories in the news about kids/people drinking and diving or other deadly actions and the consequences that come with them. I have many of my own stories that could of easily lead my life or someone else in a different direction. Death or prison could of easily been my fate and I have no bones about talking about them to him or anyone else for that matter.

[fansince65]

If you want to see the agony of a parent that lost his whole family to drug abuse , just google the life of boxer George Chuvalo ..

[acdcrocksno1]

Not a parent but I don't think I'd worry about drugs with my kids. I went to a school with plenty of drugs around but was never even tempted to try them you hear and see all the time people dying from drugs and how crap their life's become also over here drugs are still pretty damn expensive most kids can't anything more than a spliff

[Orr4]

It's not something I would call The Biggest Fear.
It's a strong concern like anything that can be a danger to them.
I told my kids that drugs kill... if you ever take drugs, I will kill whoever gave them to you.

[nilan30]

I have 3 boys ages 3, 2 and 9 months and obviously I haven't had any talks with them yet but I do worry about them getting into drugs as they grow up. It's a growing trend around here in my (very) small town as there really is "not much else to do".

I did the usual weekend drinking in high school and through my twenties and smoked the odd joint (never really liked it and can't stand the smell), and dabbled in mushrooms a few times but can say I never got into drugs compared to many of my friends. Coke was pretty big with my friends and others around here about 4-8 years ago and I came close to trying but never did.

Sometimes i'll watch them getting all excited about a new toy or getting to go play outside that I wish they could just be that age forever. Then I have to change a disgusting diaper and change my mind haha.

[smashem]

Having twin boys 13 and a girl that just turned 11, i very much worry about it. Right now they are to smart to not do it, myself never did drugs. Just drank and was bad when i mixed the Old vodka with drinking, trouble ect. Just beers now and never act up. On the other hand i would feel very sorry for the dealer if my kids ever did it. And i would find out if it was the last thing i did.

[flex_buff_chest]

Naw. I have child proof apparatuses on all the cupboards in my house.

[ValJamesRules]

Originally Posted by theknuckler

Val- I don't believe that gateway drug stuff, at least not in the way it's presented. that the high of a cig or marij. isn't enough so you move on to crack? It would seem to me if the high of marij. wasnt enough you'd just smoke more of it.

I really don't all that much either. I just do not like how herb is villianized. I had friends from high school that use to bust my chops for smoking weed and now they cannot have a good time without Xanie's or Vicadin. And oh yeah, I just smoked a lot more.

[shaud19]

*non parent*

What I see in college scares me about what our future adults will be like. Just last weekend one of my classmates died of an alcohol overdose. I thought he was a good kid. Anyways, parents ought be concerned about what they're children are doing, no matter if they think their children would never get involved in illegal actvity. I was sadened by the classmastes death, others were shocked, didn't know what to say. A parent should never have to bury their child because of drugs.