Friends will expose your kids to drugs. But there are ways to fight back

(Courier Journal, July 20) Your child is more likely to try drugs if they have friends that use drugs, according to research. They are also more likely to move on to harder drugs.

“Certainly, peers have a huge influence. Kids can get derailed quickly if they get in with the wrong peer group,” University of Louisville professor Anita Barbee told the Courier Journal. “Parents still do have a role to play, even though children are beginning to shift to following the advice of peers. It takes the parents to set the vision of what they expect of the child.”

Parents can start talking to the children about drugs and addiction as early as first grade, she added. Read more.