Are you worried about your child?

It is not uncommon for teenagers to try drugs or drink alcohol in their teenage years.  For some they may experiment and make the positive choice not to participate but, there are also those who become dependent on drugs or alcohol. Parenting a teenager who is addicted to drugs or is alcohol dependent can be devastating and you may feel like everything you say is falling on deaf ears.

Get information and advice about spotting signs and having conversations with your child about staying healthy and safe from these organisations:

• http://www.talktofrank.com/worried-about-a-child
• http://www.adfam.org.uk/
• http://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/teenagers/drugs-alcohol/
• http://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/teenagers/drugs-alcohol/where-to-get-help-for-your-teen-about-drugs/
• http://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/teenagers/

Parental drug and alcohol abuse

What impact might parental drug and alcohol abuse have on the family? It might

• make it difficult for parents to deal with family life
• put pressure on relationships
• affect children's feelings, their relationship with their parents and how they're looked after

For parental support in Lambeth, go to NHS' Information for families, friends and carers of substance users. There are organisations such as Lorraine Hewitt House (Tel: 020 3228 1500) and Lambeth Harbour (Tel: 020 7095 1980) in Brixton as well as SMART (Tel: 020 8677 9541) in Streatham that can help.

For advice you can also go to the NSPCC website .