The family is the strongest emotional fortress to protect children from the clutches of drugs through awareness, stability and containment

A child falling into a drug trap is one of the biggest shocks that families may be exposed to, in which parents struggle with feelings of fear for their child, feelings of disappointment and loss, and anxiety about the societal view of the family.

This great storm of feelings and thoughts puts families between two options: either keeping quiet about the “calamity,” as they might call it, and trying to treat and avoid it in unsystematic ways that are usually useless, or resorting to the competent authorities by requesting advice and counseling, and then treatment and rehabilitation. These are two options that can only be separated by awareness, family maturity, and putting things in their true perspective.

The first rule of family awareness of the scourge of addiction is to know that the addict is sick and needs treatment at the hands of specialists, and he was exposed to this scourge at a moment of weakness in his personal awareness or falling into a circle of fleeting bad company that transmitted the scourge to him, or unconscious curiosity that prompts him to try everything forbidden, and to deal with him wisely, away from any severe blame, and to encourage him to seek help and seek therapeutic and rehabilitative support.

Shared responsibility

The UAE is making exceptional efforts to prevent the infiltration of drugs into our society, prosecute traffickers, and hold accountable everyone who dares to tamper with the most precious national wealth, namely the youth. However, the impact of these efforts is only complete through the integration of societal and family efforts with government efforts, especially in light of the control of the digital world, which transcends all barriers and can reach our children in their homes, and in the arms of their families and friends. Protecting society is not only based on strict procedures, but also requires strong awareness and thought, family cohesion, and community maturity.

To achieve these goals, the National Anti-Drug Campaign, under the slogan “Uniting ranks to eradicate the scourge,” was launched by the “National Anti-Narcotics Agency” in the country, in cooperation with the UAE Government Media Office, which highlights the role of family awareness in early warning of the infiltration of the scourge to children and the most prominent signs that parents should notice that indicate the possibility of their son falling into the clutches of drugs, which gives them the ability to intervene positively in a timely manner, as the family is the first line of defense, and has the most important role in protecting children, with a call to strengthen Trust, dialogue, and inclusion within the home, and taking the hand of families to help treat and rehabilitate their children.

Youth and adolescents are among the segments and groups most at risk of starting to abuse and become addicted to narcotic substances, and a number of factors encourage children to become victims of this scourge, the most prominent of which are weak parenting skills and neglect of the adolescent’s emotional needs, family disintegration or hidden disintegration between spouses, which is a fertile environment for children to withdraw from the control of the home, in addition to the lack and weakness of social and life skills among young people, with the great influence of bad people in society and school, and the absence of a culture of dialogue within the home and its transformation into halls. Strict family courts in which children only find safety outside the home, making them easy prey for bad companions.

International research and studies confirm the family role

International research and studies confirm that homes based on conflict and emotional drought raise the risk of children drifting toward substance abuse by up to 50%, making disintegration an imminent danger exploited by promoters.

Studies also prove that simple details, such as eating meals with children regularly, reduce their rates of engaging in risky behaviors by an average of 33%, thanks to the psychological safety that the family instills in the child’s awareness.

The family’s awareness, concern for its children, and constant observation of their behavior constitute the strongest bulwark to protect them from the trap of abuse, as the results of international studies on the cognitive gap between parents and children, most notably studies by the US National Institutes of Health and University of Michigan research, indicate that 85% of children who fall into the trap of abuse, began their relationship with dangerous behaviors (such as smoking or associating with bad friends) without the parents noticing this for periods ranging from 6 months to a full year. Due to the lack of early observation and daily communication.
Revealing signs

Although there is no fixed time frame between the beginning of drug abuse and reaching the stage of addiction, depending on the type of narcotic substance, the method of administration, and the biological and psychological factors of the individual who is abusing it, there are a group of signs and signals that families can observe in their children that may suggest that one of their children is exposed to the affliction. These signs appear in the person suffering from the drug affliction in the form of a significant change in mood and character, a constant feeling of anxiety, loss of interest in hobbies, whether artistic or sports, and a noticeable shift in the young man from activity to inactivity. Laziness, exhaustion, and fatigue from the slightest effort, frequent absence from school, decline in academic performance, lack of concentration and distraction, turning into introversion and gradually moving away from family members, so the young man does not share news with his family or eat with them, asking more for money than before without justification, and forming new friendships suddenly, and these are very important indicators, as the teenager begins to withdraw from the circle of committed friends, whether in the school setting or in the area in which he lives, to move on to new acquaintances of a different nature, and signs also include: Insomnia and sleep disorders, with the appearance of redness in the eyes and dark circles around them, as drugs negatively affect the regularity of sleep among users, so they suffer from constant insomnia, and their sleep times change, depending on the effect of the toxins on them, and finally; Loss of appetite and food, as drug users gradually begin to eat less, with the quantities they eat decreasing on a daily basis.

However, it must be emphasized that some of these symptoms overlap with the common symptoms of adolescence in young people, and therefore it is necessary to deal with these signs with caution, and not to rush to conclusions, take a position, or point the finger of blame at the children, and to adopt positive and inspiring family methods that work to enable youth and families to face the various challenges and risks arising from this scourge, and to seek support in treatment and rehabilitation in absolute confidentiality through the Hisn service (80044).