Parents have many opportunities to foster healthy, drug-free lifestyles in their children, playing a dominant role in their children's emotional and interpersonal development from infancy. Parents who have responsible habits and attitudes regarding drug use send a healthy message and strongly influence their children's ideas about alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. Parents are models for their children, and even the use of legal drugs may send the wrong signal. A basic reality is that children will have to make their way in a world that is filled with opportunities to use drugs, but parents can prepare their children to make positive choices. High self-esteem sometimes helps children resist peer pressure to use drugs, but not always.
Research is unclear about the relationship between self-esteem and drug use.
However, all children need opportunities to practice decision-making and to become aware of the consequences of bad decisions. Parents need to provide clear, factual information about drugs and their effects. They also need to appropriately supervise their children. For example, parents should know their children's friends and be aware of what their children are doing. They also need to ensure that there is proper supervision of after-school and weekend activities and that all parties are chaperoned by responsible adults.