I would be very open with my kids about drugs and what they did to me. I think it's a bad idea even to smoke pot in front of kids. Counselors say that Straub's actions, however well-meaning, show how parents can blur the boundaries between childhood and adulthood, sowing confusion for teens. Rosenthal says he commissioned the study after speaking with three California teens who had used drugs with their parents. Parents who do not set limits and who try to be buddies with their kids are doing their kids a real disservice.
Kids have to be helped to control their impulses.
They are not helped by parents who want to jump into the playpen. On the flip side, parents can be a huge influence in steering a child from drugs, says Steve Dnistrian, executive vice president of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. They have been there and done that, and they do not want their kids using drugs. But we have a disconnect. So you avoid it.