Daddy Issue: Drug-Sniffing Dog Services

Here's another one from an NPR snippet:

Parents can now hire the services of a drug-sniffing dog to search their homes for illicit substances.  During the interview, a dog and handler were able to locate a private stash of heroin that was hidden inside a family recliner.  The quantity was, in the handler's opinion, not enough to warrant police involvement and the father's mood changed from immediate disownment to wanting to help his daughter get clean.

I can understand the recent popularity of these types of services - parents become more and more distant to their aging teenagers and communication breaks down quite easily.  Teenage independence gives way to invasion of privacy - which the article also touches upon.  I can just imagine that calling for a drug search means you have a suspicion of what is going on in the house, but you somehow need that final confirmation to act upon.  Moms and dads start looking for EVIDENCE and talks become defensive and confrontational - if there's even a talk to begin with.

We can all become out-of-our-element when dealing with our own children.  I think the key is to earn the respect of our kids - talking becomes easier when both parties are seen as equals.  Especially if illegal drugs are involved, then we're way past grounding or spankings.  Know that heroin in the home is a reflection of the entire family - and blame should be acknowledged equally.  Try to reach that common ground on why drugs were tried in the first place and progress from there.  Show your child that you have that unlimited amount of love and forgiveness, no matter what they've done or how bad the situation is.  If they need rehabilitation, they're going to need your strength as well as their own to get through it successfully.

Ignoring it makes it worse.  Incarceration makes it worse.  Turning them away altogether makes it worse. 

Make it better.