Child Health | Parents Anonymous

Study Shows Previous Drug Use by Expectant Mothers Affects Child’s Brain Chemistry

Women who are drug users, but stop before pregnancy, still run the risk of affecting not only their own children but their grandchildren as well. A new study shows that certain addictive drugs can alter the brain chemistry of offspring, in generations down the line.

Scientists recently conducted experiments on female rats. They exposed the rodents to morphine for ten days when the rats were in their adolescent years. Then, after three weeks of no drugs, the rats mated with healthy, drug-free males. Researchers found that their offspring produced a lesser quantity of dopamine, an important chemical messenger in the brain. This area of the brain is associated with reward-seeking behavior and chemical addiction. The next generation of grandchildren rats also exhibited a similar deficit of dopamine.

So far, it appears that the dopamine levels of male offspring are most affected by drug use in child-bearing women. Imbalances in the brain’s dopamine levels are linked to mental illness and problems with addiction.

In part two of the study, scientists exposed the offspring to a substance that imitates a dopamine-induced elevated release of stress hormones, which indicates that the rat’s abilities to control stress had been affected.

This research is important because it is helping researchers understand how the effects of drug use are passed on to subsequent generations, down to the genetic level. Understanding how gene expression, and the production of protein, is affected by substance abuse provides clues to how multi-generational changes in brain chemistry make offspring more susceptible to drug addiction.

Studies like these will eventually help treatment centers and doctors provide more effective drug counseling solutions, and help educators teach young people the importance of avoiding drug use. Anyone struggling with chemical dependency issues, and friends and family of those dependent on drugs or alcohol, can utilize sites like Rehab-International.org to learn more about how they can get help for their addictions.

Filed Under: Child Health, Drug Abuse Tagged With: Dopamine, Substance abuse, Substance dependence

The Ramifications of No Child Left Behind

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If you speak to a teacher, regardless of her political affiliation, she will probably agree that the No Child Left Behind program has failed miserably. Rather than helping children, it has stifled teacher creativity, hindered children’s progress, and relegated each class to the lowest common denominator. The premise of the No Child Left Behind program was to hold teachers and schools accountable for the educational welfare of each child. While in theory this sounds like a good plan, the reality is that is has significantly backfired.

The reliance of the No Child Left Behind program on test scores to determine success has masked the true progress teachers can make. Instead of taking classes in the direction of fully online schools, teachers are forced to concentrate on old-fashion standardized test content, creating an environment where learning and teaching is drudgery for both the student and the teacher.

This focus on test scores has left children more inclined to learning relegated to the speed of the lowest common denominator in the class, essentially inhibiting their performance. By not allowing the teacher to develop curriculum tailored to her particular students, the government has imposed assembly line learning where there is no freedom of thought. In addition, there have been instances where unscrupulous teachers went over the tests ahead of time, essentially giving their classes the answers and making it impossible to measure student progress.

The No Child Left Behind program is an example of an educational reform that failed both the students and the teachers. It created an atmosphere where a teacher was held hostage by a child’s test scores, regardless of whether that particular child was inclined to learn or not. Society must realize that education is not a one-size-fits-all straight jacket. Each teacher and child has different teaching and learning styles, and both need to have the ability to produce results with those styles.

Filed Under: Child Health, Counselling, General Tagged With: Child, Education, Learning, No Child Left Behind, No Child Left Behind Act, Standardized test, Student, Teacher

Addicted to Alcohol

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If you have a teen and suspect that they may have a drinking problem, you must get them help immediately. It involvs more than calling Canada 411 and finding out what to do. You must gather their friends and family to work together to get the teen help. The longer you wait, the worse the problem may become.

First, identify the signs of an alcoholic. Does your teen try to hide their drinking or are they open about it? Do they suffer from frequent blackouts where they aren’t sure how they got from one place to the next? Do they not even remember what they did the night before because they drank so much? If your teen has gone through any of this, they may be an alcoholic.

Try staging an intervention. Bring together the teen’s family as well as a few friends. Talk to the teen about their drinking behavior. Explain to them that they are only hurting themselves and that you only want the best for them. Make sure to speak calmly to them. If the teen feels like you are overbearing, they will become defensive and may even walk away from the situation. You will then be worse off than you were before.

If your teen agrees with you, take them immediately to rehab before they have a chance to change their mind. They won’t be able to get better if they aren’t ready to. They have to want this for themselves just as much as you want it for them.

Feel free to take the teen to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. There they will meet people that are going through the same issues, and may even feel comfortable telling their own story in order to start the healing process.

Filed Under: Addiction Recovery, Alcohol abuse, Child Health Tagged With: Addiction, Adolescence, Alcohol, Alcoholics Anonymous, Alcoholism, Canada, Health, Substance abuse

Signs Your Teenager is Using Drugs and Alcohol

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It is common for teenagers to experiment with drugs and alcohol, but the experimentation usually ends after a few times. Some teens will develop a need to use drugs and alcohol regularly, which can lead to serious problems with school and health. Parents who understand the signs of drug and alcohol abuse can give them an advantage to help their teens prevent future risks.

Peer pressure in high school is a risk all of its own. When it comes to drug and alcohol use, teens have a hard time saying no. The two most common substances used by teenagers are alcohol and marijuana. Studies show that almost every teenager has tried these substances at least once. Alcohol experimentation begins before a child becomes a teenager at the age of 12 where a teenager is likely to experiment with marijuana at the age of 14.

Prescription medication is becoming more popular among teens because they are easier to get and less expensive. The use of illegal drugs is increasing into even more dangerous drugs such as ecstasy and cocaine. Teenage drug addiction can lead to depression and low-self esteem, which can lead to a lifelong battle of these diseases.

There are many warning signs of drug and alcohol abuse in teenagers. Parents can identify there is a problem if they can recognize the signs of abuse in their children. Sudden mood swings and unusual irresponsible behavior are telling signs of abuse among teenagers. Teens that have a constant cough, red eyes, and frequent headaches may be developing physical signs of dependency on drugs and alcohol. If your teenager has begun hanging out with a different crowd and enjoying activities that are not in their character, this could be a sign of addiction. The most common sign of teenage addiction is having problems in school when they were good students before.

Filed Under: Alcohol abuse, Child Health, Drug Abuse Tagged With: Addictions, Adolescence, Alcohol, Alcohol abuse, Alcohol Addiction, Drug Abuse, Drug Addiction, Health, Illegal drug trade, Prescription drug, Substance abuse, Substance dependence, Teen Issues

Taking Care of Your Seriously or Terminally Ill Child

Your child suffers from a serious and terminal condition, but there are ways to cope every step of the illness–from diagnosis to treatment to recovery.

1. Honest communication: Be realistic with your child and let him/her know s/he is not alone. When describing your child’s illness and the treatments that s/he will be receiving, be clear, realistic and most importantly, explain your child’s situation in terms s/he can understand. If necessary, consult your family physician or request to have a doctor present when you explain medical procedures.

2. Tackle tough emotions in a variety of ways. Do not limit the exchange of questions and concerns to strictly verbal communication. Instead, explore other ways of sharing hopes, fear and feelings. Allow your child to express their emotions through avenues such as music, writing, or art. Encourage kids to use their creativity to understand their condition or to cope.

3. Behavioral issues: To maintain normalcy in a child’s life, avoid spoiling or overindulging your child. A common instinct for a parent may be to coddle a sick child, perhaps out of feeling of guilt or to be protective. However, allowing your child to behave in an unacceptable manner will only make matters more difficult when s/he must return to daily routines and activities post-treatment.

4. Pay attention to yourself and other members of the family: The family unit can be understandably strained during your child’s illness, treatment, and recovery process. Stay flexible while striving to keep daily activities normal such as grocery shopping, paying discount car insurance or simply going to work. Help siblings develop a better understanding of the situation and perhaps include them in the treatment process. Understand that everyone handles stress differently, including yourself and your spouse. Don’t forget to address your own needs and be sure to get adequate rest and nutrition. Continue to build strong relationships with family members and friends.

Filed Under: Addiction Recovery, Alcohol abuse, Child Health Tagged With: Care, Child

Teen Depression

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Depression in teenage is one of the foremost contending teen issues. Teenage depression is on the rise and alarmingly so. Depression in teenagers is due to a variety of factors and a combination of them. It can be due to the social fabric that the teenager is living in or due to physical changes that the teenager is undergoing. The main reason is the emotional changes that happen during these years.

Teen issues related to romance, identity, confidence always crop up during teenage years. These formative years are as important as childhood years, though childhood is remembered throughout one’s lifetime. Adolescent years are a very important gateway to adulthood. Teen issues in adolescent years might lead to issues in adulthood. Most habits in adulthood are learnt during teenage years. Therefore teenage years are the make or break years of a person’s future adulthood years.

To deal with teenage depression a process needs to be adopted that combines character development, confidence building, and physical and mental stimulation. Character development is an area of psychology that will help the teenager to find his or her identity. Often, teenagers are busy trying to be others instead of trying to be themselves, and end up hurting themselves psychologically.

Making the teenager understand latent strengths is the best way to bringing in contentment. Teen issues are compounded by the lack of awareness of inherent abilities. Only after a lot of trial and error, teenagers find their feet. By that time they would have reached adulthood.

Engaging teenagers in physically and mentally stimulating exercises will kill the idle mind and the devil’s workshop. Physically or mentally active teenagers do not entertain unwanted and debilitating thoughts in their mind. This is because they always have things to do. By setting things up for teenagers to do, their focus will become more concrete. Setting short term goals is the best way to teach teenagers to set long term ones, and in the process getting confidence.

Filed Under: Child Health Tagged With: Adolescence, Adult, Depression, Duke University, Fluoxetine, Health, Major depressive disorder, Mental health, Teen Issues

Teens and Prescription Drugs

When people think of teenagers and drugs, illegal street drugs, such as marijuana, meth and ecstasy, often come to mind. However, teens’ use of prescription pills is becoming a growing problem. Teens abuse pharmaceticals, or “pharm” for short, which include drugs like OxyContin, Vicadin, Lortab, Xanax and Ritalin. Some teens abuse over-the-counter drugs.

Many teenagers do not think about the serious consequences of pill use. Some consider pills to be medicine and thus not that harmful. However, to get high, teens frequently take many times the recommended dosage of pills, so the risk of overdosing is of great concern. Sometimes the combinations of pills kids take are toxic as well. Kicking a pill habit can be as difficult as getting off of harder street drugs. Prescription pill relapse rates are high.

Pill parties are becoming more common in teen culture. At these parties, kids have access to various pills that they have easily collected from their homes, which is referred to as “pharming.” Sometimes kids mix the pills together or combine them with other drugs or alcohol to get a more intense high.

To lower the risk of teen abuse of prescription medications, parents should take action. They should make sure they know how much of each medicine is in their home and carefully monitor the use of the drugs. Adults should keep all pills in a safe and secure location, such as a locked medicine cabinet. Parents should throw out expired drugs or drugs that are no longer being used for treatment.

Pills are a popular way for teenagers to get high. Many teens have easy access to prescription medications. Teens can usually get them for free by sneaking them from a family member like mom or dad, an elderly relative and so on. Pills do not have the negative stigma attached to them that harder drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, do. Parents should educate their children early about the dangers of drugs and take steps to keep their kids from having access to drugs.

Filed Under: Child Health, Drug Abuse Tagged With: Prescription Drugs, Teens

The Benefits of Integrating New Clothing and Hand Me Downs Into Your Child’s Wardrobe

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If you are a parent, then you probably know that children have a great number of needs. They must have baby clothing, safe and appropriate furniture, bedding, and the list goes on. As a new parent, these costs can add up easily, but it becomes even more serious as more children are added to your family. Whether you give birth to a baby or choose to adopt, you need to decide how you feel about putting your baby or child in hand me down clothing.

Hand me down clothing can be great if you can get past the stigma that it sometimes comes with dressing your child in used clothing. At first, some parents may not be excited about giving used clothing to their children, because they believe that every child should have new clothing and nothing should be used or passed around. The truth is, however, that because babies and kids grow so quickly, most hand-me-down clothing is actually in excellent condition. Used clothing has already been washed, so the fabrics are soft and free from those new-clothing chemicals that can irritate sensitive skin. Of course, you’ll still want to buy your little one brand new outfits from time to time. But used clothing can be a good way to build up the child’s wardrobe too.

Kids go through clothing quickly. Utilizing clothing that older children have out grown is a great way to ensure that you have enough clothing for a small child without spending more than you can afford on new clothes. Participate in a hand me down circle with friends and family, check out secondhand stores and pass down clothing from your own older children to ensure that your youngest child has a suitable wardrobe for the weeks, months, and years ahead. Buy new clothes when you can, and when you can’t, see what used clothing might be available.

Filed Under: Child Health, General Tagged With: Business, Child, Children, Clothing, Consumer Goods and Services, Shopping, Used and Secondhand, Used good

Signs Your Teen May Be Using Marijuana

What are the warning signs that a teenager may be using marijuana? There are many physical and behavioral signs of pot use.

Marijuana is usually rolled into a cigarette or smoked using a bong, but it can be eaten, as in marijuana brownies. Papers for rolling cigarettes are one sign of drug use as is drug paraphernalia, such as pipes, bongs and other devices for smoking. A teen’s hair, clothes, room or car may smell like smoke.

There are several physical signs of recent marijuana drug use. Users sometimes have dilated pupils and red eyes. They may act or look tired and lack ambition. Sometimes users have trouble walking or appear dizzy. After using marijuana, users may get the giggles and laugh at things that they normally would not think of as funny. They may act irrational and out of it. Users may have memory lapses. Some may feel anxious or paranoid. Teens may feel really hungry or thirsty.

Long-term effects of marijuana use are more severe. They include chronic fatigue, depression and anger. Users may start to lose friends and relationships with family members. They may become less interested in keeping up their personal hygiene, doing well in school or holding down a job. Ability to concentrate and learn information is often impaired. Long-term users may also develop respiratory problems, such as wheezing and coughing.

One of the number one signs that teens may be using pot is the crowd they hang out with. If teens have friends who use, they are at a heightened risk of using themselves since drug use is socially acceptable in their circle. Peer pressure can be a big factor. Teens who have trouble in school or have problems with the law are also more susceptible to using marijuana and other drugs.

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drugs among teens. It is important for parents to recognize the warning signs that their teen might be smoking pot.

Filed Under: Child Health, Drug Abuse Tagged With: Marijuana, Signs of Teen

Teen Abuse of Household Products and Chemicals

Parents have more than just illegal drugs, such as marijuana and meth, to be concerned that their teenagers may be using. In fact, many teens start experimenting with household products and chemicals to get high before they try illicit drugs. The abuse of household chemicals is called inhalant abuse or “huffing.”

There are various items found in the home that kids may use to get a high. These include products like markers, air fresheners, hair sprays, nail polish removers, glues, paint thinners, spray paints, gas and cleaners. These products are often readily available and accessible in the home. Teens can also purchase them at a relatively low cost at a local store.

Teens get high on household products by using a few different methods. They can breathe or sniff the chemicals through their nose or mouth, or spray products in aerosol cans directly into their nose or mouth. Huffing fumes off of soaked towels or rags is another option. Finally there is a technique called bagging. A user pours a chemical into a plastic or paper bag and then puts the bag over their nose and mouth and breathes in.

Signs of household chemical abuse is similar to symptoms of alcohol use. Teens may act intoxicated and have glazed-over eyes. They might be dizzy, light headed, drowsy and have difficulty speaking. Many exhibit decreased inhibitions. Repeated inhalant abuse can lead to hallucinations, delusions and belligerent behavior.

The abuse of products found in the home is extremely dangerous. Teens can suffer brain, kidney, lung, heart and other organ damage. Cardiac arrest, suffocation, coma and death can even occur on the first abuse of these chemicals.

Parents should keep an eye on the chemicals in their home and know the signs of drug use in teens. Parents should also be aware of any scratches or sores they see around their child’s mouth or nose and take note of any chemical or other unusual smells coming from the teen or the areas where the child hangs out.

Filed Under: Child Health, Drug Abuse, General Tagged With: Household Products and Chemicals, Teen Abuse