According to Health Canada, children as young as 11 years of age are using drugs and alcohol on a regular basis.
In a survey conducted to establish the earliest average age of drug use in children between grades seven and nine, Health Canada found that 36.5% of the boys surveyed and 36.6% of the girls had participated in binge drinking during their lifetimes (binge drinking is the consumption of 5 or more drinks in one sitting). And while the girls in the study were experiencing binge drinking for the first time at an average of 13 years of age, boys were drinking even earlier, at an average of 12.4 years of age. When asked about their experiences with drugs (including cannabis, amphetamines, Ecstasy, hallucinogens, cocaine, steroids, glue, gas, prescription drugs and pain killers), the boys revealed that the time of their first use ranged from 10.9 – 13.5 years of age, while girls were 11.1 – 13.5 years of age when they tried drugs for the first time. This survey also shows that as children grow older, their alcohol and drug use becomes more frequent, as apparent in the number of grade seven children who had experienced drinking alcohol (49%), as compared to the percentage of students in grade nine who had tried or used alcohol in their lifetimes (75.2%).
So why are our children drinking alcohol and doing drugs at such an early age? It could be the influence of the media, alcohol and drug marketing schemes, easier access to drugs and alcohol amongst youth, or it could be the result of peer pressure. We’ve all been faced with difficult choices in social situations. We all remember the first time we were offered drugs and alcohol and felt the pressure from our peers to participate, even if it was against our better judgment. Sometimes, giving into peer pressure results from not having a socially accepted reason to not partake. “I’m not allowed,” or “My mom will find out and ground me” may not be initially respected by youths who are experiencing a sense of burgeoning independence from parental control. Children face being teased, labeled and ostracized for abstaining from popular activities amongst their peers, and often enough, as shown from the above statistics, these popular activities include the illicit use of drugs or alcohol.
When your family commits to a drug- and alcohol-free home, a support system is created that may provide your children with the strength to withstand peer pressure and just say no when faced with alcohol and drugs in a social setting. And, not only will your children feel morally supported by the decision made your family, they will be held accountable for their actions by the regular use of home drug testing. Whether you choose as a family to test for drug and alcohol use through urinalysis, saliva analysis or hair follicle analysis, your family members will know that they have to be accountable for their social activities, and that they have a responsibility to those they love to stay clean.
So the next time your child is out with friends and alcohol or drugs are introduced to the group, your family commitment will provide him or her with a simple, respectable reason to abstain from participating. Maybe, one night your child will think or say “No way — my parents test me,” and that will save your child’s life.