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Teenage drug use

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Casual scribe
DavidThomson

Teenage drug use

My 14 year old son was taken to hospital after taking LSD. He was out with friends at the beach. My son says another boy also took LSD but did not have the bad reaction he had. My son says it was sold to them for $20 each by an 18 year old girl the other boy met online. The other boy was very responsible in looking after my son when things went wrong and getting an ambulance. Now I’m wrestling with what action to take. We’ve had the conversation with our son about the dangers of drugs, expressed our disappointment and concerns, and warned about the impact it can have on his future prospects. He appears very remorseful. I am thinking of grounding him for the entire holidays. as punishment for his abuse of our trust. No more unaccompanied journeys to the city or beach with his friends (at the same time i am concerned about isolating him socially by doing this). I’m also planning to call the other boys parent to let them know what happened to our son (should i tell them everything my son has told me about the other boy or be more discrete?). Should i be telling my son to no longer associate with the other boy (they are good friends but i’m concerned about risk taking behaviour when they get together)? I’d like to hear from other parents on what disciplinary action they would do if in a similar situation.

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Andrea-RO

Re: Teenage drug use

Hey @DavidThomson,

 

I can't imagine how stressed you must be feeling right now. It's always concerning when our children engage in risky behaviour, but even more so when they are putting themselves in such danger at such a young age. It makes a lot of sense that you're also struggling with what to do in this situation. 

In terms of punishment, it's really good your son is feeling remorseful, and that he understands how serious his actions were. However, the fact that his actions broke your trust in him are valid, and should also have space. In terms of type of punishment, it may be a good idea to frame it around this sense of broken trust, and the fact that a consequence of breaking it, is to earn it back. What could work in terms of punishment is putting in some really strong boundaries (perhaps like an initial grounding, or very early curfew, or increased adult supervision), and then as he does earn back your trust, these boundaries can gradually relax. This may give him a greater sense of agency over his actions - not only encouraging him to take responsibility for what he had done in the past, but also what he can do to atone for it. 


In terms of addressing the situation with the other boy, it might be a good idea to reflect on what you would do if you were in the other parent's shoes. I'm sure if the situation had been reversed, you would want to know that your son had taken LSD. It might also be helpful to have a "team" chat with the other boys parents, and together you can come up with a solution. 

It might also be a good idea to give ParentLine a coll as they are experienced counsellors, who have a lot of experience in supporting parents with a number of issues. I hope this helps!

Casual scribe
DavidThomson

Re: Teenage drug use

Thankyou Andrea. Your advice aligns with what i was thinking too. I appreciate your reply.
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Raj_del

Re: Teenage drug use


@DavidThomson wrote:
My 14 year old son was taken to hospital after taking LSD. He was out with friends at the beach. My son says another boy also took LSD but did not have the bad reaction he had. My son says it was sold to them for $20 each by an 18 year old girl the other boy met online. The other boy was very responsible in looking after my son when things went wrong and getting an ambulance. Now I’m wrestling with what action to take. We’ve had the conversation with our son about the dangers of drugs, expressed our disappointment and concerns, and warned about the impact it can have on his future prospects. He appears very remorseful. I am thinking of grounding him for the entire holidays. as punishment for his abuse of our trust. No more unaccompanied journeys to the city or beach with his friends (at the same time i am concerned about isolating him socially by doing this). I’m also planning to call the other boys parent to let them know what happened to our son (should i tell them everything my son has told me about the other boy or be more discrete?). Should i be telling my son to no longer associate with the other boy (they are good friends but i’m concerned about risk taking behaviour when they get together)? I’d like to hear from other parents on what disciplinary action they would do if in a similar situation.