When we set up shop in our little corner of the internet, we only thought we would bestow our word babies unto the world, we never thought we would receive much in return. Okay, we were hoping for money, but our imaginations stopped there. It floors us that besides fame, fortune, and shiny hair, blogging has brought us an unexpected gift: tools to be better parents.
But you don’t have to be a blogger to get these gifts. Lucky for you, there is nothing we like more than taking these parenting tools and presenting them to you so you can strengthen your parenting game, too. Consider it our gift. 
Recently, we were invited to Washington, DC to attend the forum, “Inside the Teen Brain: Is There an App for That,” hosted by StopMedicneAbuse.org because October is National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month. Their whole goal is to empower parents to spot the warning signs and help prevent teen abuse of over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicine containing dextromethorphan (DXM). At this forum, they shared qualitative and quantitative research of teens. That noise you hear is our nerdy hearts singing with glee over cold hard data.
The background noise you hear is our flopsweat dripping on the ground from the cold hard data.
- Approximately 1 in 30 teens have abused cough medicine to get high, and 1 in 3 teens in grades 9-12 knows someone who has used cough medicine to get high.
- Taken in excessive doses, DXM has intoxicating, dissociative, and psychoactive properties. Teens report taking up to 25 times or more of the recommended dose of cough medicine to get high. Side effects from abuse include nausea and vomiting, distortions of color and sound, hallucinations, and loss of motor control. When combined with other substances (drugs and alcohol), it can be very dangerous and even lethal.
- When teens are curious about DXM abuse, because they have a friend who has tried it or heard about it in pop culture, they look for more information online. Teens look to YouTube, social media, and online discussion forums like Erowid.com to get more information as they progress toward trial.
- An overwhelming majority of teens (79%) have hidden online activities from parents.
- A survey given on behalf of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association found that teens are three times as likely to trust friends as a source of information than their family–including siblings.
Are you sufficiently hyperventilating? Never fear because we have your paper bag to breathe into!
First and foremost: Teens who learn about the risk of drugs from their parents are 50% less likely to use drugs. And they really need your guidance because their brains are still under construction. In fact, they are only about 80% formed. And doesn’t it just figure the frontal lobe that regulates impulse control is not fully developed until 24 years of age? Sigh.
As Darby Fox, an experienced child and family therapist, told us, “Hormones don’t make kids crazy. Developing brains do.”
So how do we be the brakes? We arm ourselves with information and starting the conversations early. Feeling awkward about how to get the conversations rolling? We have tips for that.
And we have specific pointers for your next DXM abuse conversation gleaned from StopMedAbuse.org. Keep in mind drivers of teen attitudes include parents, access, and attitude towards behavior.
- Teens perception of DXM being easy to get has gone down by 24% since 2010.
- IMPORTANT! This one blew us away as the nugget of gold to tuck away for always. Teens are reluctant to judge each other. Focus on the behavior and not condemning the user. You must honor that they trust their peers.
- To that effect, the fear of social consequences is a leading motivator in preventing teens from abusing cough medicine. Fear of social disapproval from vomiting in public or appearing sloppy deters abuse of DXM.
And while there is no easy app for understanding the teen brain (million dollar idea right there, folks), the Consumer Healthcare Products Association has a fun app with over 135,000 downloads in under a year showing the effects of DXM abuse on robots. This is a conversation starter if there ever was one.
So to smack you over the head with an obvious truth, parenting is hard. But you don’t have to go it alone.
- You have us, please share your questions and concerns in the comments.
- You have StopMedicineAbuse.org fighting the good fight using real-life testimonials, games, apps, and bait-and-switch videos to interrupt teens’ online searches and change their perceptions of this DXM abuse behavior. Please check out the additional information they have for you to use to talk to your teen about medicine abuse.
- You have the knowledge that your teens really do want to hear you even if they don’t look like they are listening.
-Ellen and Erin
This blog post is sponsored by the CHPA’s Stop Medicine Abuse educational program. We were compensated to attend the event, but all opinions and love for our teens are our own.
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