After meeting with Ray Lozano during Mid-Term we wanted to share these tips from him in an effort to help you keep your kids Drug Free. Mr. Lozano’s bio and contact information can be found at the end of the article.

One fear parents have is that their child will cave in to peer pressure and engage in drug use.  The broad availability of drugs will present a high cause for concern.  There will include multiple theories concerning the ideal method of keeping your kids from the harms of drugs.  A few parents think having stringent rules are going to be enough to scare their teenagers into avoiding drugs, yet unfortunately that might not be enough.  There’s hope; multiple studies have proven that following these 3 steps is going to assist you in helping your teenager avoid the multitude of harms of drug misuse.

Education

Hiding your head in the sand won’t help you hold informed conversations with your teenager regarding drugs.  You must educate yourself on all of the various kinds of drugs your child might be exposed to, as well as the effects they may have on somebody who’s using.  If you’re educated on drugs you’ll have the ability to answer your teen’s questions with truthful and educated answers.  Never make him/her feel bad if they ask a question.  A few parents mistake questions for a confession of guilt.  Jumping to these types of conclusions and accusing him/her prior to you hearing them out is going to decrease the chance that they’ll ever come to you with any questions again.

Understand the Warning Signs

As you’re learning of the various sorts of drugs your teen might be involved with you ought to study up upon the warning signs.  Knowing about both emotional and physical changes which may arise as a consequence of drug misuse might aid you in detecting warning signs, as well as intervene prior to your child trying more harmful drugs or becoming addicted.

Signs of drug use include 3 symptoms:

• Drop in grades
• Change in friends
• Loss of interest in hobbies

Interact With Teenagers

Most teenagers are going to pull away from their mother or father because they have a desire to feel independent.  Mothers and fathers oftentimes believe that providing their teenager space includes the only method of avoiding conflict.  If you witness your child wanting to become more independent have a seat with them and discuss which kinds of responsibilities they might take on.  Create a strategy with your teenager.  Set up clear privileges, expectations, and consequences, in order for your teenager to feel in control.  Such guided freedom is going to assist in giving your teenager the type of direction and self-confidence needed to avoid drugs.

Activities also can play a major role in keeping a teenager away from drugs.  Encourage him/her to become involved within art, sports, or additional activities.  If your teen is already engaged in activities, you ought to keep up with their accomplishments and encourage them to remain focused. If you suspect drug misuse, it may be time for a well-planned drug intervention or expert assistance. 

Bottom line, talk with your kids, not at them. What’s the difference? When talking with your kids ask a LOT of questions.

I will lay out an agenda to get the conversation started on a Saturday:

• 8:30 Wake your son or daughter up.
• 9:15 Walk out to the car.
• 9:30 Pull into their favorite place to eat breakfast.
• 9:40 Order
• 9:45 Start talking with…NO AT….your child
• 10:00 Ask a lot of questions in a non judgmental way.
  • What do your friends say drugs
  • How much do you see on your campus
  • What do you think about alcohol or weed
  • Where do you think it will lead
  • Discuss a friend or family member who had a lot of potential but lost it because of drug use

For more information contact the Prevention Plus Office at 909-255-4314 or go to RayLozano.com

About Ray Lozano

Since 1986, Ray Lozano has educated and entertained thousands of students in hundreds of middle schools and high schools from Alaska to Florida, and internationally in the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. Ray has a talent and gift for conveying what could be construed as boring drug and alcohol prevention information in such a fun and humorous way that his audiences come away informed and entertained. The best analogy would be giving your kids medicine in a spoon-full of sugar. There’s a good reason that Ray’s audiences feel like they just came back from the Improv rather than from a “lecture.” Ray has performed stand-up comedy at the Improv in Hollywood and Ontario, CA. It is his background in comedy that keeps his audiences coming back time and time again. The fact that he has been asked to return to many of the same schools across the nation, some for as long as 15 years, speaks to Ray’s ability to keep his information updated, fresh and relevant.

Ray’s varied experience professionally has equipped him to become the unique speaker that he is today. His career started out in the Teen Challenge Ministry Institute, where he saw firsthand the ravages of drug use in young adults. Having not used drugs or alcohol, this was an eye-opening experience to see firsthand the deleterious effects that drugs have on a young person. He saw how drugs stripped away a person’s chance for an extraordinary life. From working with people fighting their way back from addiction, he realized he wanted to work with kids before they got involved in drugs and alcohol, which led him to his work in prevention.

As a Vice Principal for a private elementary school, he launched an after-school program with an emphasis on promoting a family-oriented, drug-free philosophy. This gave him an understanding from an educator’s perspective that schools are looking for the best for their students.

Ray Lozano was the Program Specialist for a very successful youth prevention program at an internationally known hospital. The youth program provides drug and alcohol education for youth ages 14-18. Through the program, Ray increases the adolescent’s knowledge of the effects of drugs and alcohol on the body, the addictive process, consequences of risky behaviors, alternative choices and the ability to make positive life decisions.

Ray holds a current certification as Prevention Specialist by the state of California as a drug and alcohol counselor.