Your first inclination might be to get angry when you find out your teen is using drugs. This a normal reaction, but please know that anger and yelling will just turn your teen's ears to the "off" position. You need to let your teen know you care about them and that you just want the best for them. You must place responsibility for their actions on their own shoulders and make them accountable without doing so in a threatening manner. Honest, open communication is the key towards overcoming your teen's problem - even before it becomes a problem.

Move on to the future and find things that you can do right now to help your teen. Try not to live in past; this will make the person you are trying to help agitated or upset. With addiction comes a lot of damage; material and emotional. In the wake of the episodes that the addict can create, remember that you are not alone. There are people around you that care. Those that have been and are in the trenches of this disease can help the addict when no one else can.

Counseling is a very effective way to help curb your teen's drug use. By allowing your child to interact with a third party you will find that recovery often goes better, because often times the family is too emotionally close to the addict to be of any real help.

Please realize that you are the parents and you are not responsible for the disease of addiction. Get help before it is too late. Remember that this disease does not discriminate against anyone or anything.

No single treatment is appropriate for all teens which is why there are many places your teen can get help. Look for local programs geared towards teens and find a peer counselor who your teen can talk to. Teens relate to other teens and young people, so finding someone close to their own age can be very effective.

Match the treatment with the individual. If your teen's drug use has gotten completely out of hand, you may want to look at an inpatient clinic. But try to find a clinic where other teens are being treated as well. If you send them to a program that has only adults in it, their chances of relapse are higher. If you do put your teen in a treatment facility, be sure you participate in all of the activities that are asked of you. This is the perfect time for your teen to talk to you in a safe environment with a moderator. They are more likely to open up and say what they need to say in the clinic rather than at home.

Just as with adults, relapse is a very real possibility, neigh, a probability. Teens are going to be thrust back into the environment that they were in when they were users, so keep in mind that drug addiction is a very powerful mental disease and relapses are very likely to occur. This is where patience and understanding come in. Talk with your teen and get them help and counseling to understand why they went back to drugs. When you tackle the psychological part of drug abuse, you have a better chance of helping your teen become drug free.

It's also important for you to educate your child BEFORE drug use becomes a problem. Again, we say, communicate openly and honestly with your child and arm them with as much information as you can possibly find. There has been a push to get drug information in the schools, but don't leave it all up to them. You are your child's best defense against drugs. While they may be uncomfortable when you present them with information, they'll thank you later in life. It's kind of like having "the sex talk" - it's awkward for both of you, but it's something that is necessary.

Teach them how to say no without feeling guilty. Show them that they are a valued and loved person and that they have the right to refuse something that is not good for them. Tell them the types of people to avoid and the things they can say if they are offered drugs or find themselves in a compromising situation. As a parent, you will need your own support to deal with this difficult situation.