Unmistakeable Red Flags
November 8, 2011 by mitzirudderow
A red flag that I could not ignore was my son’s drop in attendance when he was in high school. It was what convinced me that my son was experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Being absent, skipping classes and a drop in grades are all unmistakable red flags of substance abuse. This is a parenting tip that every pro-active parent needs to know.
A drop in grades alone is not necessarily a warning sign of teenage substance abuse. But, if you do begin to receive progress reports indicating that your teen is failing a course, seek immediate help from the teacher or the school counselor. Early intervention could be all that is needed to get your child back on track.
Does your child’s school alert you when there is an unexcused absence? This might be something you want to find out. By law, all schools must take attendance and most of them alert parents when their child is not in class.
Calls from the attendance office became a routine occurrence in our home and was the concrete evidence I needed to confront my son with my suspicions of his substance abuse. I was a parent in denial but I could not ignore these two red flags when they appeared together. The most valuable tools in my parenting toolbox were the relationships I formed with the attendance office and social counselor at school. They helped me unveil the ugly truth about my son’s substance abuse and showed me where to seek help.
This blog brought to you by the Eric Hoffer Award Winning author of “Coming Clean: Drug Addiction Help and Hope” and www.mitzirudderow.com.
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Posted in awareness of factors contributing to drug use, Book Award, children, coming clean, consistent parenting rules, contributing factors of teenage drug use, contributing to teen drug abuse, Controlling teen behaviors, Courage in facing teens drug addiction, cure for addiction, Denial of drug addiction, drug abuse, drug abuse denial and facing truth, Drug and addiction education, drug and alcohol awareness, drug experimentation, education, enabling bad habits and addiction, enabling behaviors of teens, enabling teens, enabling teens - substance abuse, Eric Hoffer Book Award, family, hope and despair of teenage drug abuse, kids, parent and teen, parental tough love with teens, parenting, Parenting mistakes, parenting tools for raising teens, parents contributing to drug abuse, parents enabling teens, patterns in teens leading to drug abuse, pro-active parenting, Raising teens, red flags of drug abuse, relationships, rules and boundaries, rules and boundaries, substance abuse, substance abuse rehab, teaching, teens, tools for dealing with teen substance abuse | Tagged coming clean, coming clean about alcohol, Coming Clean: Drug addiction - help and hope, courage in facing substance abuse, denial, denial of substance abuse, denial of teens drug abuse, drug addiction help and hope, early intervention of drug abuse, experimentation with drugs, experimenting with drugs, failing school due to drug abuse, help from school counselors regarding drug abuse and truancy, parenting tools on drug abuse, parents ignore red flags of substance abuse, progress reports are red flags of alcohol and drug experimentation, red flags of risky teen behavior, red flags of substance abuse, red flags of teenage behavior, schools alerting parents of absence from school. suspicions of drug abuse, skipping school and failing red flags of drug abuse, social counselor at school unveil substance abuse, teens drop in attendance red flag to parents, toolbox for families, toolbox for substance abuse, truancy and drug use, warning signs of truancy and drug abuse, www.mitzirudderow.com | 3 Comments
A red flag that I could not ignore was my son’s drop in attendance when he was in high school. It was what convinced me that my son was experimenting with drugs and alcohol. Being absent, skipping classes and a drop in grades are all unmistakable red flags of substance abuse. This is a parenting tip that every pro-active parent needs to know.
The truth is that you are a terrible mother, period. You are now trying to make excuse for your lack of parenting. It comes through everytime you post. Take a look in the mirror, you probably won’t like what you see.
How many times do I have to admit, “I was a mother in denial!” I think Mr. Soave’s most recent comment speaks for itself.
Any thoughts out there???
You can run, but you can’t hide from the fact that you were an absent parent. Stop hiding behind that parent in denial nonsense.