Drinking, Drugs, Sex

There is always a first time in life for everything. How do we best prepare our children for their first time….their first ‘drink’, their first cigarette, their first experience with drugs, or with sex? Providing them with the information they need is one way. Educate them about the law when it comes to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, and even sex. Educate them in making the right decision, decisions they will feel good about after they make them. Educate them on how to protect themselves, from sexually transmitted diseases, from peer pressure, from knowing how to make the right decisions for them, decisions they will always feel good about.

Knowledge is power! The better informed our children are, the better prepared they will be to make the right decisions for themselves. In an ideal world, our children take on board the wise words of wisdom we supply and support them with. But, what happens when they make a wrong decision, when they make a ‘mistake’? What happens when they are out with their friends and have too much to drink and find themselves in situations they do not feel good about?  What happens when they find themselves in situations that carry consequences that they cannot deal with on their own, such as contracting a disease, having an injury, or becoming pregnant? Do we, as parents, yell and scream at them and remind them ‘I told you so’? How do we - as parents, as families - deal with the unexpected, the difficult, the “first time” situations with our children that we have never dealt with before? How do we learn more about what to do or where to go? How do we learn more about what other parents would do, or what professionals would say? 

“Expat Teens Talk,” a resource that has solutions, advice and support for many challenges Expat Teens go through, attempts to offer the answers and advice that you as parents, and the teens themselves, need to guide and support your teens through the challenging years of change - adolescence. Remember, as a parent and as a teen, you are not alone! Learn from others, read what they have to say - read “Expat Teens Talk”, coming soon. In the meantime, TALK to us and let us know what’s on your mind…