Fentanyl overdoses: how to talk to your kids about drugs

As fentanyl-related overdoses continue to dominate Canadian headlines, parents might be tempted to use the news to scare their children away from using drugs.

ButDanReist, assistant director with theCentre for Addictions Research, says that's not the best approach. Here are his recommendations for talking to your child about drugs.

The scare factor doesn't work

"The scare value on its own has been shown to be quite ineffective for the children who are most at risk of doing something crazy with drugs," saidReist.

Reist said children are more likely to reject horror stories and extreme worst-case scenario examples because of their "crap factor."

Instead, parents should strive to haveopen discussions about the costs and benefits associated withdifferent types of drug use, he said.

"We need to start introducing them to the fact that these substances are part of the human culture, part of our history, and we need to help our children understand them and respect them."

Not one drug talk, but many

"There [are]many opportunities in life for us to explore these things in a waythat is not like having 'the drug conversation,' and yet sets the stage for building competency and using drugs effectively,"Reistsaid.

Reist recommends taking aproactive rather than reactive approach todrug education.

That means looking for everyday instances where you can talk about drugs, for example, when it comes up on TV,rather than bringing down the hammer when your kid drives home drunk.

What if you've never raised the issue before?

If your children are already teenagers and you haven't spoken with them about drugs,Reist said it's never too late to start.

"I would want to be saying to my 13-year-old, 'I should have had this conversation with you a long time ago. I haven't, and that's my mistake. This showing up in the news right now about fentanyl reminds me that we do need to have that conversation.'"

Reist stressed the importance of engagingin conversation with your children,as opposed to telling them what to door what to think.

"I justwant toremind parents that building a positive, good, solid, open relationship with our children is thebestthing we can do toprotect them."

To hear the full interview with Dan Reist, listen to the audio labelled: How to talk to your kids about drugs like fentanyl.