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Kicking the habit of drugs is not an easy thing to do. Just ask any person that’s conquered a drug addiction and they will tell you how difficult it is to face.

There are many drug abuse treatment programs out there that can help users conquer their addictions. At the David Lawrence Centers, however, we believe the key to preventing drug abuse problems amongst individuals is through education and prevention programs at an early age.

Preventing Drug Use in Youth & Teens

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, use of illicit drugs among youth has generally declined over the past 2 decades. The same can be said for prescription and OTC drugs, cigarettes, and alcohol. While this is certainly good news, there is still a need for drug use prevention and education for our children.

It’s important to show our youth that drugs are not worth the risk and potential addiction. Here at the David Lawrence Centers, we provide a few programs for prevention and education for children.

Making Positive Choices

One of the most important things we can teach children is the ability to make good choices in their lives (whether or not it involves drugs or alcohol). This program helps adolescents who are having difficulties in making choices that would support a healthy lifestyle. During this program, children will learn the following:

• Accepting responsibility for their actions
• Consequences (good or bad) for their actions
• Decision making
• Evaluating priorities in everyday life
• Peer pressure and how to handle peer pressure
• Values and morals
• Self-esteem
• Substance abuse prevention

Learning how to conquer the above can help children not only avoid a life of drug abuse and addition, but also help them on the path to leading an overall healthy life in any endeavor.

Parenting Teens

It’s important to educate children on making the right choices. However, it’s also just as important that parents are educated to help guide their children to a path of a healthy lifestyle. Our Parenting Teens prevention program is a six-session psycho-educational series that provides tools for parents whose children are experiencing behavioral difficulties. During this program, parents will learn the following:

• Preventing and intervening in a child’s negative choices
• Addressing problematic behavior
• Drug use, violence, and sexuality
• Changing destructive behavior
• Rebuilding family relationships

Finding the Right Youth Prevention Program in Naples, FL

As we mentioned above, one of the keys to preventing substance use is through the educating of our children and teens. With the proper tools, both children and their parents can learn the way to live a healthy lifestyle and avoid a potential substance use problem down the road.

For more information about our youth drug use prevention and education programs, call us 24/7 at (239) 491-7602 or click here.