If you are taking this course you are concerned and care deeply about the well being of your children, and whether or not they use or abuse substances. But what I do know is that not everyone will come from the same background. Some of you may have had super strict parents who practiced and preached abstinence. And some of you may have had a childhood full of drugs and alcohol. Most of you probably fall somewhere in between. But wherever you stand, it's important to start this course by taking a trip down memory lane.
There's no disputing that we are raising kids in a completely different time with the use of technology and social media. But interestingly, drug and alcohol use among teens has been on a steady decline. And that's because of parents like you. Parents who know how destructive and chaotic drug abuse can be. Back to thinking about your own childhood, if you were raised in a families that drink alcohol or abuse drugs, that it should be easy to think about what was upsetting about those times? How did you feel knowing your parents were drunk or high.
If you lived in a family with not a lot of drug or alcohol use them think of the times you encountered a, an adult who was drunk or high and how that made you feel. Maybe it was an uncle or a friend's mom. Your experiences as a child consciously or subconsciously has made an impact on how you parent, however old your children are, think back to when you were their age. After this lecture, write some notes in your journal about everything you saw or remember when it came to drugs and alcohol. For example, if you have a two and a four year old, you may not remember so much about when you were two and four. But just think back to your earliest memories.
With beer constantly stocked in your fridge, did your grandpa act goofy or maybe violent after having a few drinks? If you have children who were, let's say 15 and 17, then think back to your own alcohol and drug use, as well as what you saw at home. Are your kids witnessing the same things are following in your footsteps? Maybe for some of you they are, and that might be a good thing, or maybe it's not a good thing. Whatever it is, this is just a warm up lecture. And I want you to start thinking about things like this opening up your mind a bit, and this activity.
Writing in your journal will help you as we progress through the course.