School is out. Responsibilities are minimal. The energy in the year is potent with teenage experimentation. Summertime is a prime time for teenage substance abuse, risk-taking, and other thrill-seeking behaviors. If you have been considering sending your teen to treatment for their drug and alcohol addiction, summer is a smart time to do it. Many parents believe that they will have better control over their teenagers once they are home for the summer. Getting a job, having household responsibilities, and being under the more careful watch of a parent could be the answer to reversing the drug and alcohol problems they developed during the school year spending time with friends at school. It’s essential to support your teen during the summer months and have constant conversations about the dangers of adolescent substance use.
The New York Times cites that “Studies show that during the summer months adolescents are most likely to experiment with first-time use of alcohol, marijuana, and cigarettes.” Though your teen may be seasoned in their substance abuse, they are more likely to spend time with friends and use during the summer, influencing others to use for the first time. Summertime substance abuse tendencies have more of a wider effect than just the mental health of your teens. The article explains “For car crashes, the perennial leading cause of death among teenagers, June, July and August holds the grim honor of being the three consecutive months with the most adolescent traffic fatalities.” Substance abuse and experimentation cause a compromise in a teenager’s developing cognitive functions. Judgments are impaired like depth perception, timing, and coordination.
Preventing Summer Substance Abuse
Even adult long time recovering alcoholics know that there is no escaping the temptation to drink or use alcohol, even in the most remote areas of the world. Trying to completely isolate your teen from the presence of drugs and alcohol will not likely be an effective method. However, there are ways to prevent summer substance abuse from starting or worsening an already present problem.
- Talk to your kids about the dangers of experimenting with drugs and alcohol
- Set up safe driving codes for texting and explain how fatal drunk driving can be, as the driver and a passenger
- Ask your kids what kind of drinking and drugs their peers are doing and if they’ve been asked or tried
- If you suspect your teen already has a substance use problem, it is critical to intervene in the earliest stages possible. Through an intervention or seeing a doctor, it is essential to make sure your teen gets the treatment they need as soon as possible.
- Don’t write off teenage antics as permissible and a sign of their maturity. Substance abuse in teenagerhood can have long-lasting effects on mental health.
Substance Use Treatment for Teens
At our adolescent treatment center, we provide teens and their families with the tools and treatment they need to overcome and prevent further substance use. From services that focus on teens to services that provide help for family members and loved ones, we are able to support your journey and help your family unit heal and recover.
Our treatment plans include the following services:
- Marijuana use treatment program
- Alcohol use treatment program
- Heroin use treatment program
- Opioid use treatment program
Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center offers the premier residential treatment program for addicted adolescents and teens. Hidden within the open spaces of Mississippi, our home welcomes each client as part of a loving family, dedicated to their clinical and spiritual healing. Building foundation and cleansing life, our programs restore values, support academic progress, and create hope for the future. Contact Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center today for more information at 662.373.2828.
