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Addiction Prevention
Prevent: Protect children from addiction
Protect children from addiction
Every parent wants to see their children grow up safely and reliably accompany them on the path to a happy life. But what if your child has their first experiences with tobacco and alcohol during puberty or even comes into contact with illegal addictive substances such as drugs?
What are the addictions?
Addictive behavior is usually associated with addictive substances such as tobacco, alcohol, medication or drugs such as cannabis. However, there are also addictive behaviors that express themselves through excessive eating or starving, through gambling, shopping or media addiction. One speaks of addiction when the person concerned, for example, starves compulsively, regularly drinks himself into a frenzy, can no longer stop gambling, or uncontrollably buys things that are not needed and used.
How to prevent?
Addiction often has a history. Some children learn early on that little "comforters" help them get over grief. The lower the level of self-esteem and self-confidence, the greater the risk of developing addictive behavior later on. You can counteract this by strengthening your child's personality right from the start. With a healthy self-confidence, it will be easier for your daughter or son to say no to tobacco, alcohol or drugs later on.
The portal "Kinder stark machen für ein suchtfreies Leben" of the Federal Center for Health Education BZgA is aimed directly at parents and offers a lot of information and tips to prevent addictive behavior in children later on.
Does the risk of addiction grow during puberty?
A lot of things come together during puberty. Children grow older, want to go their own way, test boundaries and rebel against their parents. In addition, the influence of girlfriends and boyfriends becomes greater during this time. To prove courage in the clique or to impress others, tobacco and alcohol come into play at some point. You will not be able to completely avoid testing your limits and these first experiences. It becomes problematic when the addictive substances become permanent "escape helpers" because conflicts and problems can no longer be solved without addictive substances. However, you can actively support your child in clearly recognizing the risks of addictive substances and dealing with them responsibly.
What counseling services are available for those at risk of addiction?
If your child tries out his or her limits during puberty, this is quite normal and not automatically a reason for excessive concern. Often it remains a temporary phase. If the beginnings develop into serious problems, you can find counseling services here:
If you are concerned about your child's well-being, you can contact a local addiction help center about addiction and drug problems. You can find counseling centers near you via the addiction help directory of the Deutsche Hauptstelle für Suchtfragen e. V.
This is a telephone information service of the Federal Center for Health Education BZgA on addiction prevention issues.
Phone 0221 89 20 31
(available Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
(prices according to telephone provider for telephone calls within Germany)
Under this number you reach telephone drug emergency call facilities, which united on initiative of the Federal center for health clearing-up BZgA and offer a consultation for concerning and members.
Telephone 01806 31 30 31
(available around the clock)
(20 cents per minute from the fixed network, in mobile communications max. 60 cents per minute)
This is a telephone information service of the Federal Center for Health Education BZgA on the subject of (non-)smoking and smoking cessation.
Telephone 0800 8 31 31
(available Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.)
More information for parentsLinks for further reading
The state campaign "Addiction always has a story" specifically targets children, adolescents, young adults and their caregivers. For more information, visit www.suchtgeschichte.nrw.de
Das Gesundheitsportal „clever-gesund-info.de” richtet sich direkt an Kinder und Jugendliche und bietet viele Infos und Tipps zu den Themen „Sucht und Abhängigkeit”.
