Teenagers Drug Testing
Teens and drugs often go hand in hand as adolescents experiment with substances. Concerned parents may decide that the best way to deal with fears about teenage drug use is to test their children. This suggests sending off for at-home kits and keeping track of drug use through urine testing.
Some may do this openly, requiring sample on a regular basis. Others may try and do so via more covert means. Either way, this method is fraught with dangers.Drug testing has the potential to provide answers, but there are better options to take.
At-Home Testing Is Not The Quick And Cheap Alternative To Professional Help.
Some parents may think that at-home tests are a cheap and east alternative to getting professional drug tests. They can send off for a simple testing kit, get a sample from their child and read the results. The problem is that these kits can be very expensive, especially for those continuing to try and catch their children out.
A one-off professional medical test is more cost effective. In addition to this, they are not all that easy to use. If you suspect your child is on drugs, what drugs are you testing for? There are different tests for different drugs, and it can be a confusing process when you don’t know what to look for.
At-Home Testing Provides A Limited Testing Kit That Doesn’t Offer The Best Results.
Even if these tests were easy to use and cost effective, there is no guarantee that they will be accurate. Parents need to be able to read a test correctly to determine the result, and this can be tricky. There are some that may see a positive result because they are so keen to catch their child out. Others may do the opposite and fail to see a positive result because they want their suspicions to be wrong.
When you add in the risk of false positives, then it gets even more complicated and stressful. A child on cold medication could give a false positive result. The problem is that not all parents will be aware of this. They may read it as a clear positive result for a drug use that isn’t there.
There is also the problem that parents need to administer the test at the right time to catch certain drugs before they pass through the system. This symbolizes they need an explicit knowledge of detection times and the finer details of drug testing. Each substance is handled differently within the body. Some pass through quickly while others linger. This is too much stress to place on a parent when professional testing is more efficient.
At-Home Testing Can Cause A Significant Rift Between Family Members.
This is perhaps the most important issue of them all when it comes to dealing with teenage drug use. The role of the parent is to ensure that our children are safe and protected in a loving, trusting environment. Those that go down the route of routine drugs testing directly break this. Teenagers do not feel as though parents are trusting them or listening to them, regardless of their experience with drugs. Parents are no better than law enforcers subjecting their child to testing with little benefit.
This method could end up pushing a child away. They may resort to other techniques to hide their drug use. They could also spend more time away from home and simply not want to be around their family. It is important for family People to be able to talk about the situation and not treat it as a terrible crime. Teenagers that can be open about their interest in drugs may be more inclined to talk. Then they can see the potential danger and the impact it has on the family. Be the open, caring parent at home and leave the robust counseling to be professional.
Drug Use Needs To Handle Well, But There Are Better Ways To Do So.
Teenagers need to know that they have a support system in place and can discuss drug use without persecution. Parents that try testing for drugs on their own are on a slippery slope from the outset. Don’t waste time on at-home testing when you can go straight to a doctor, counselor or simply talk to them. Leave testing to the professionals and be a parent, not law enforcement.