It is important that parents build a strong relationship with their children and talk to them about the dangers of substance abuse. Conversations with children and teens about the dangers of drug use can be extremely influential in helping to prevent addiction. Prevention must begin during childhood and extend into later adolescence.

Family Resources to Prevent Drug Use

• Family Checkup: Positive Parenting Prevents Drug Abuse, National Institute of Health
• Navigating the Teen Years: A Parent’s Handbook for Raising Healthy Teens, American Academy of Pediatrics
• Drug Guide for Parents, Partnership for Drug Free Kids
• National Institute of Drug Abuse Shatter the Myths
  
• Operation Prevention Parent Toolkit, by the US DEA and Discovery Education
• US Drug Enforcement Administration and the US Department of Education Growing Up Drug Free – A Parent’s Guide to Prevention