New Parents & Carers Handbook On Young People And Drugs
Mentor and Adfam have launched a joint publication to help parents and carers understand the complexities of new psychoactive substances (NPS).
The revised guide, ‘Talking with your children about New Psychoactive Substances and Club Drugs – A Handbook for Parents and Carers’, will be available as a free download and includes information on the range of new substances, their effects, risk factors, and the law. It also contains helpful advice on how to have effective conversations about drugs in order to keep children safe from their harms.
The Government’s recently published Drug Strategy recognises the important role played by parents and carers in helping young people understand how to avoid the risks from drugs and alcohol. “Parents, families and friends also play an integral role in preventing substance misuse and supporting those with a dependency towards recovery,” Maryon Stewart, the founder of Angelus, now merged with Mentor, said in the handbook’s introduction.
“As parents, all we ever want to do is to keep our children safe from harms. It is true to say these new drugs are less well known than other harms. There is also an additional fear about their effects and the potential risk of addiction. But I feel it is vital that all parents should learn about their harms with the common goal of protecting our children’s welfare.”
Mentor’s CEO, Michael O’Toole, welcomed the handbook, saying: “Parents and carers are very often the first line of defence in preventing harm from drugs, including new psychoactives. Their instincts and desire to protect are strong but they are sometimes not confident to intervene, feeling their knowledge is lacking.
This handbook builds their knowledge and includes some helpful ways of allowing those difficult conversations to get started. Everyone should agree for the need for parents to talk openly to children about the risks – they need to have accurate information particularly in a rapidly changing environment.”
Vivienne Evans, Adfam’s CEO, said: “In recent years the range and effects of new drugs have changed rapidly so parents can feel it is a bewildering subject. But the principles of protection and safeguarding don’t really change.
Parents often don’t realise how influential they can be in shaping their children’s behaviour around risky areas like this. This handbook arms them with the necessary knowledge and approaches to talk to their children about the dangers and how to stay safe.”
You can download the handbook here http://mentoruk.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/10/Mentor-Adfam-NPS-Parents-Handbook-October-2017.pdf
