I'm just beginning my journey into raising teenagers, I have 2 tweens currently that are generally really good kids.
Today I ended up rather heated debate about drug testing teens with a couple of friends.
Completely unbeknownst to me, you can apparently buy drug testing kits from most pharmacies.
I'd just like to get the opinions of a wider audience.
Do you randomly drug test your kids?
If so, for what reason?
(not judging, this is a genuine question).
Do you worry about damaging the trust and lines of communication with your kids if you utilise these tests?
Should we be randomly drug testing kids, especially as a preventative measure?
What are the potential implications of randomly drug testing kids?
Is this just a reality of raising teenagers in modern times or is this over the top?
Naturally, drug and alcohol usage is something that does concern me as a parent but I'd honestly never given it a whole lot of thought just yet.
7 Replies
That is crazy. I haven't thought of it and I have my fourth child going through his teenage years now. Why would you just randomly drug test for no reason other than they are a teenager? I have heard of 8 year olds smoking cones, does that mean all kids should be drug tested from that age? The better thing to do is to build trust, be someone they can talk to. My kids have a relative who has ruined his life because of meth so they are all against it, maybe I'm lucky in that regard but any kid can be shown what drugs can do to you. There are a lot of stories out there that will scare anyone away.
Why would you want to randomly drug test your kids if they are good kids showing no signs of drug use? If my mother did this to me, I'd be leaving home pretty bloody quickly just for such extreme distrust of me on her part and having no evidential reason to assume otherwise.
Drug tests kits aren't cheap btw, and yes u can get them from Chemists. They are urine tests.
I absolutely think this is way over the top. Unless you have firm reason to believe your kids are using drugs, don't just randomly test them for no good reason. Terrible idea. And if you do, I'll guarantee you they will never trust you.
I think if you were using one, there would be good reason. I can even think of ways it could be an agreement I.e. test clean for however long, get however much towards purchase of a car. Could be highly motivating for a kid wanting to break a bad habit. Certainly wouldn't be something I'd ever think to use in general though.
No I don’t but I would if it was a problem. I am well aware my sons 17 & 19 work in an industry rife with drugs and that is well available. My older son enjoys an occasional joint or brownie which I am fine with OCCASIONALLY. It’s not for everyday or to be done in my home or on my property. I have had to come down hard about this and I have taken car keys for 24-48 hours if I am concerned. They are very upfront about things and whilst I realise they don’t tell me everything I don’t feel the need to test. If I suspected lying I would.
Unless they are showing signs of major difficulties, hell no.
I’d need some major red flags waving and some real communication issues to go down that path.
Yes it’s over the top and something that is likely to ruin any relationship you have with them
I stopped reading after a few questions.
I wouldn't randomly drug test my children. I wouldn't use the pharmacy to facilitate that either. If I had a great and genuine concern, I would take my children to the doctor.
I honestly don't know how this conversation would have come up but as a mother of a teenager, I have conversations with my child about these sorts of issues and asking my child to take a test shows an element of mistrust anyway.
If this is a genuine thing, medical professionals should be involved.