Nothing devastates parents like watching a teen struggle with addiction and dependency, and the behaviors and pains of teen drug abuse and addiction invariably ripple throughout the family, leaving no one untouched by a piece of the tragedy.

If you suspect your teen is using or abusing drugs, you need to get help now. The problem isn't going to go away on its own, and an addiction to drugs or alcohol will always get worse. The longer it's left, the more intense the therapy that is required, and unfortunately, the lower the ultimate prognosis for sobriety.

No parents who have endured that pains of a teen's addiction regret having taken strong and decisive action, even if that action proved unnecessary in hindsight; but far too many parents live with daily regret for not having done what they could, before the problem got so severe.

But preventing the problem before it emerges is far preferable to dealing with the aftermath, and parents need to do more than simply hope for the best. Adolescence is a period of experimentation and it may be unrealistic to expect that your kids will never experiment with anything you don't approve of, but by setting a good example, by spending time with them, and by enforcing clear and transparent discipline on the matter, you have a far greater chance of getting through those teenage years unscathed by the pain of addiction.

3 ways to keep kids off drugs

1) Don't do drugs

Kids are quick to spot a hypocrite, and they don't often listen to what you say as much as watch what you do. If you set a poor example with your own substance abuse habits, you cannot reasonably expect them to abstain from experimentation with drugs or alcohol. Keep drinking to a moderate level always, and never use illicit drugs.

2) Stay involved in their lives

Teens crave autonomy, and there is a natural separation that occurs over the formative teen years, but that doesn't mean that you no longer play a vital role in their lives and it doesn't mean that you should spend little time with them. Male spending time together enjoyable for all, and you'll be in a far better position to notice when behaviors verge from normal.

If you don't spend time with your kids you lose your influence over them, and since kids change so dramatically throughout adolescence, you need to keep up and stay with them through their journey to adulthood.

3) Talk to kids about drugs and alcohol

Don't assume that your kids know about the dangers of drugs or alcohol, and don't rely on the school or church to teach them either. Kids who parents talk to them about drugs don't use drugs as much as kids whose parents don't...period.

It doesn't take much effort, and it can save an awful lot of heartache. In addition to discussing the risks of drugs, you should enact clear consequences for a transgression of the family no drugs or alcohol policies, and make sure you stick to promised punishments should experimentation ever occur.

There's never a guarantee

You can't live their lives for them, and once they leave the home they are exposed to a whole world of temptations and danger. Some parents who do everything right still endure the heartbreak of addiction, and some parent who do nothing at all enjoy few problems throughout the teen years. But on average, you do exert a huge influence and you can take simple steps to help them make it through the difficult years of adolescence unscathed by the harms of drug abuse or addiction.

Keep your kids safe from drugs ChooseHelp Prevention

Read the daily addiction and treatment blog TroubleBlog Teens and Drugs