Talking to your child about drugs: a one-page card
Stay calm. Listen first. Keep talking. Pin this up, or share it with the other adults who help raise your child.
If something has happened tonight
If a person cannot be woken, is struggling to breathe, is having a seizure, has chest pain, or you fear for their life: Get medical help at once: take the person to the nearest hospital or clinic now, or call one close to you and ask them to send help. Stay with them. If you cannot reach local help quickly, also call 112. It is free, though it may not connect in every area.
Ages 6 to 9
Say
Medicine helps our body when a doctor, a nurse or a grown-up we trust gives it to us.
If someone you do not know offers you something to eat, drink or swallow, say no and come and tell me. You will never be in trouble for telling me.
Some things can look like sweets or drinks and still hurt a body. We check with a grown-up first.
Ages 10 to 12
Say
I want to talk with you about drugs, the same way I would talk about anything that can affect your health. What have you heard about them?
Some people your age may offer you something or dare you. What would you say, and what could you do if saying no feels hard?
If you ever feel unsure, or something has gone wrong for you or a friend, you can come to me first. I will listen before I say anything else.
Ages 13 to 17
Say
I would rather you tell me something hard than have to face it alone. I will not promise I will like it, but I will keep your safety first.
Tell me what you see around you, at school and online, about drinking, pills and smoking. I want to understand your world, not to catch you out.
Our family expectation is clear: we do not use drugs, and if you or a friend is ever in trouble, call me, any hour, and I will come without a lecture that night.
Early signs: ask, do not accuse
Sudden drop in school attendance or marks
Marked change in friends, or secrecy about where they go
Changes in sleep, appetite or energy that last
Withdrawing from family, losing interest in things they loved
Money going missing, or new belongings you cannot explain
Strong mood changes, or a new strong smell on clothes or breath
Start with what you saw and how you feel, and ask a question: I have noticed you seem tired and quiet this month. I care about you. What is going on?
My part: for other adults who help raise the child
Grandparents, aunts and uncles, older brothers and sisters, neighbours and house-help all help raise a child. Hand this to them.
A shared compound or extended family
Agree one short family message with the adults who help raise the child, so the child does not hear different rules from different people.
Choose one adult the child finds easiest to talk to, and tell the child who that is.
Hold the talk away from the crowd. Privacy makes honesty easier.
When someone else cares for the child while you work
Tell the carer plainly what to do if something goes wrong: take the person to the nearest hospital or clinic, with 112 as the free backup.
Ask the carer to tell you about worrying changes without punishing the child first.
Let the child know the carer is a safe person to tell, and that you will not be angry with them either.
ALTDAP. Nothing is kept about your children. altdap.com/family
