The National
Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) reports the following:
- People who began using addictive substances before
age 15 are nearly 7 times likelier to develop a substance problem than
those who delay first use until age 21 or older
- Every year that substance use is delayed during the
period of adolescent brain development, the risk of addiction and
substance abuse decreases
Can making a
pact with your child encourage him/her to stay off drugs? Jim Huger, founder of Parents and Children
Together (PACT), believes that it can.
Click here to read about his proactive rewards-based approach to keeping children off
drugs.
This post is
not intended to be a recommendation for subscribing to the service that Jim
Huger created, since at this time I am not personally aware of anyone using it. Instead, it presents a concept that could be
of interest to many parents of pre-teens and teens.
