It is important to detect early warning signs that a child is beginning to become addicted. These signs may not be obvious, so families and schools need to pay close attention.

Detecting risky situations:

Illustration photo. (Source: internet)

- They change their daily routines erratically or are absent from home for unreasonable reasons.

- Often skip school to leave school and go somewhere unknown.

- Children make friends with suspicious drug users (family must quickly help children escape from that person's temptation).

- Gather with friends in gangs to race, zigzag, and mess around...

- Starting bad behaviors such as smoking, drinking alcohol... are behaviors that can lead to trying drugs.

- Children are given a lot of money by their families, especially they can lie about going to extra classes or shopping to ask for more money.

- The neighborhood, near the house... has drug dealers, there are many people who also inhale, smoke, inject drugs, which is also a danger to children.

How to spot the early signs of drug addiction

Illustration photo. (Source: internet)

- Irregular working hours, often leaving home at fixed times or arguing, persuading family members to have more freedom in living hours, stepping out of family control.

- Temperament changes, sometimes they are excited, laugh for no reason, talk a lot but the story keeps repeating itself, sometimes they are depressed, lethargic or yawn, have less contact with family members, and pay less attention to personal hygiene.

- Not communicating with family, hiding in a separate corner to doze off, half-closed eyes enjoying the drug "high"

- Talkative, cheerful, active, likes loud sounds. Then hides in a corner, closes eyes, and gets angry if disturbed.

- Often ask for money but do not use it for legitimate reasons.

- Learning is delayed and declined. No longer flexible and intelligent.

- Irritable, easily angered when "high".

- Absent-minded, dozing off in class

- Stay up later not because of studying or work, wake up later.

- Drugs can cause constipation and difficulty urinating, so children spend longer in the bathroom than usual.

- Eyes are often red; mouth, neck, hair, collar have a burnt smell (potash).

- Dilated pupils, sweaty face, red facial skin.

- If you find that your children are keeping drugs that we know for sure are not for medical purposes, be careful that they are abusing modern drugs (sedatives, addictive sleeping pills).

Some sure signs

Illustration photo. (Source: internet)

- Smoking marijuana has a very unpleasant smell.

- Sniffing heroin: Children often put heroin on a piece of aluminum foil, light a fire underneath to let white smoke rise, then inhale the white smoke through a small tube held in their mouth (usually they use money to wrap the tube).

- Injecting drugs to each other.

- Regarding signs of drug injection, needle marks can be seen in the blood vessels on the back of the hand, wrist area, upper elbow, or inside of the ankle of the children.

- Signs of body destruction: using a knife, sharp object or cigarette butt to cut the wrist or elbow, leaving scars.

- When lacking drugs, there may be signs of yawning, runny nose, aches and pains, restlessness and fear, and finding every way to get drugs.

- Using methamphetamine paraphernalia together. Or urine test positive for other types of tests.

Nowadays, drug dealers are targeting students, even young students. At first, they may invite, entice, or give away drugs for students to try for a while to make them addicted. After a few times of using drugs, they become addicted and completely dependent on them, having to buy or sell drugs to them every day.

There are cases where they even threaten and force children to use these dangerous substances, and then when the children are addicted and dependent on them for drugs, they force them to sell drugs for them.

Families and schools play a very important role in helping children protect themselves from drug addiction. Parents must fully and deeply see the dangers of drugs to their children and the happiness of their families. Parents must care, be close, have understanding, and have better ways of managing and educating their children.

PV (Synthesis)