There are no set symptoms associated with substance use, especially in its early stages. However, given that a parent has a strong emotional relationship with their child, they will be in a position to recognize certain signs which, though not directly related to substance use and abuse, can be indicative of a troubled adolescence. Examples include:

• Passivity and a lack of independence
• Low self-esteem
• An unwillingness to make up after disagreements
• A lack of self-control
• An inability to get over problems and disappointments
• Difficulties forging and maintaining friendships

It can sometimes be hard to distinguish normal adolescent behaviour from the sort of behaviour that can stem from substance abuse, but extreme and lasting changes could point to the latter.

You should ask yourself the following:

• Does your child seem distant, melancholy, tired or less interested in how they look?
• Has your child become more hostile, aggressive or uncooperative?
• Does their mood swing suddenly from happy and lively to sullen, silent and ill-humoured?
• Has your child’s relations with the rest of the family deteriorated?
• Have they grown apart from or dropped their old friends?
• Has your child’s performance at school worsened? Are they absent more often?
• Has your child lost interest in their favourite activities?
• Have your child’s eating and sleeping habits changed (sleepiness or sleeplessness, loss of appetite)?
• Have they started lying a lot or keeping secrets?
• Have sums of money or objects started to mysteriously disappear from the home?
• Are there any unusual smells, stains or marks on their body or clothes or in their bedroom?
• Have you found powders, pills, pieces of tin foil, plastic straws, cigarette papers, needles or syringes in their room?

If you have answered yes to most of the above questions, it may indicate that your child is using substances. However, children facing problems other than substance abuse can manifest certain of these signs, too. If in doubt, seek help.

Prevention starts with parents. It depends on how well parents take care of themselves, their needs and relationships, their personal development. Parents are a model and inspiration to their children. The satisfaction parents get from their lives, their relationships and their work is important in determining whether they have the strength required to raise independent and self-confident children with a strong sense of their own worth. Being a parent is anything but easy. Some say it’s an art, and it is certainly a role that requires you to be in touch with your emotions and to display knowledge, energy, humour, patience, understanding and a positive disposition. The parent has to create a family climate in which the child can learn to love, respect, cooperate, judge, lose, choose, search and communicate. At the same time, the parent has to balance the child’s need for protection with the need to provide them with opportunities to grow up.

Families capable of providing a protective environment in which a child can develop in a healthy manner display a number of specific characteristics:
– A warm and positive relationship between parents and children provides protection and a sense of security, even when there are problems within a family. Such a relationship gives children a firm sense of identity, and makes them feel part of a clearly-defined ‘us’.
– Open and direct communication within the family—and especially between parents and children—allows problems to be solved, personal worries to be shared, pressure and stress to be defused and psychological support to be provided.
– Parents having realistic expectations of their children and a positive view of their abilities strengthens their children’s self-esteem and self-confidence. It also allows children to set realistic goals for themselves and their lives.
– Undertaking minor responsibilities and having their limits clearly delineated gradually instils children with the belief that they can stand on their own two feet and be useful. Having stable, sensible rules is also important, as it teaches children to respect the society in which they live–rules provide clear limits for children and allow them to learn to live with others. In reality, though they may kick against regulation, children actually want rules for the sense of security and relief they bring.
– Parents maintaining close contact with their children’s schools and taking an active role and interest in improving their performance there is also very important. Teachers do not only impart knowledge to their students, they also train them in social and personal skills which are just as important for their development as individuals.

Parents pass messages onto their children. Their ability to deal with life positively, to stay away from substance use and to handle difficult situations effectively makes them extremely powerful positive role models.

Parents are the first line of mediation between their children and the messages they receive from the Media, and their social environment in general, as they grow up. Having accepted that the Media constitutes a source of information or influence, parents need to evaluate its messages and information with their children. By asking the right questions, parents can help their children express what they have heard, what they believe, what they think and feel, and how they evaluate the messages they have received. By having this sort of discussion with their children, parents can help change some of their children’s ideas and clarify the values the family holds.

Prevention includes every attempt made to reduce or delay the desire to use substances. Prevention should operate on multiple levels and begin at an early age. However, methods like providing information on the consequences of substance use, attempting to frighten people into not trying substances by presenting substance use in the blackest possible terms, and explicitly forbidding such use have proven largely ineffective.
Prevention should really be about how we live our daily lives. It must transcend the passive provision of information, and aim at developing and cultivating an addiction-free approach to life which respects the individual and their needs.

The most suitable age for discussing drugs is when the child raises the issue themselves by asking questions. Generally speaking, before broaching the subject, parents should ask themselves whether:

– The child has expressed a need for the relevant information?
– The child understands the matters the parents want to discuss?
– The child feels free to express concerns or questions of this sort with their parents?
– There is a communicative climate within the family?

If the child or adolescent asks to talk about drugs with a parent, it means something has stimulated this desire to investigate the subject further.
While it’s a good idea for the parents to learn everything they can about drugs before discussing the subject with their child, they certainly don’t not need to know everything there is to be known about drugs. Above all else, however, they should remember that it’s what they do that’s important, not what they say–there shouldn’t be an obvious discrepancy between their words and actions!  They should also remember that parental support can help a child resist peer pressure to try drugs.
On a psychological note, parents who strive to be perfect may find that this actually impedes the formation of a positive relationship with their children. Indeed, children growing up with a role model of this sort are extremely unlikely to learn how to handle their own insecurities and weaknesses. This means that parents shouldn’t be afraid of admitting that they don’t know everything about everything: doing so is honest, makes parents more accessible and helps parent-children bonding.

There are no set symptoms associated with substance use, especially in its early stages. However, given that a parent has a strong emotional relationship with their child, they will be in a position to recognize certain signs which, though not directly related to substance use and abuse, can be indicative of a troubled adolescence. Examples include:

– Passivity and a lack of independence
– Low self-esteem
– An unwillingness to make up after disagreements
– A lack of self-control
– An inability to get over problems and disappointments
– Difficulties forging and maintaining friendships
It can sometimes be hard to distinguish normal adolescent behaviour from the sort of behaviour that can stem from substance abuse, but extreme and lasting changes could point to the latter.

You should ask yourself the following:

– Does your child seem distant, melancholy, tired or less interested in how they look?
– Has your child become more hostile, aggressive or uncooperative?
– Does their mood swing suddenly from happy and lively to sullen, silent and ill-humoured?
– Has your child’s relations with the rest of the family deteriorated?
– Have they grown apart from or dropped their old friends?
– Has your child’s performance at school worsened? Are they absent more often?
– Has your child lost interest in their favourite activities?
– Have your child’s eating and sleeping habits changed (sleepiness or sleeplessness, loss of appetite)?
– Have they started lying a lot or keeping secrets?
– Have sums of money or objects started to mysteriously disappear from the home?
– Are there any unusual smells, stains or marks on their body or clothes or in their bedroom?
– Have you found powders, pills, pieces of tin foil, plastic straws, cigarette papers, needles or syringes in their room?
If you have answered yes to most of the above questions, it may indicate that your child is using substances. However, children facing problems other than substance abuse can manifest certain of these signs, too. If in doubt, seek help.

Drugs affect everyone differently. Their effect depends on the quantity taken, the emotional state of the user, and the environment in which they are taken. Parents need to know what to do if they find their child sick after using drugs or drinking an excessive amount of alcohol.

Amphetamines, cannabis, Ecstasy, LSD and magic mushrooms can sometimes trigger stress or panic attacks. If this happens:

• Calm the child down. Try to stop them panicking. Talk to them in a normal tone of voice; try to conceal your own fear or worry from them.
• Explain that the feeling will pass.
• Encourage them to sit in a quiet, softly-lit room.
• If their breathing quickens, calm them down and ask them to take slow, deep breaths.

Heroin, tranquillizers and aerosols or glue abuse can make the user feel extremely sleepy. If this happens:

• Calm them down. Talk to them in a quiet, calm voice and try to stop them panicking.
• Don’t frighten them.
• Never give them coffee to wake them up.
• If the symptoms persist, get them to lie in the recovery position (embryo-like on their side). Make sure they don’t swallow their tongue, which can impede their breathing.
• Don’t hesitate to call for an ambulance, if they don’t wake up quickly.

The abuse of alcohol, inhaled substances (glues, aerosols, petrol), heroin, tranquillizers or the constant trance-like dancing of an Ecstasy user who neither breaths properly nor drinks adequate fluids, can lead to a loss of consciousness. An overdose of most drugs can also lead to a loss of consciousness. If this happens:

• Call the emergency services immediately (dial 166 in Greece), give your address and ask for an ambulance.
• Don’t ever hesitate to contact emergency services.
• Check their breathing. Be ready to perform artificial resuscitation (the kiss of life).
• Keep your child warm, but not too warm. However, if they have taken Ecstasy and seem to be overheating (hyperthermia), keep them cool, make sure they have plenty of fresh air and take off any excess clothing (hats, gloves, scarves etc.).
• If you know what substance they have taken, tell the ambulance crew when they arrive.
• If you find drugs but are not sure what they are, give them to the ambulance crew.
• If you find your child unconscious or somnolent, it is important to know what to do: it might save their life.