Raising a Healthy Drug Free Family

The statistics are staggering. Every year more than 5000 teenagers commit suicide while another 500,000 attempt to do so. Thousands of kids are killed and injured each year in automobile accidents and horrible acts of violence that are linked to drugs. Millions of kids are turning to drugs and alcohol to try to find their place in the world. What can we as parents do to make sure that our children grow up with the self worth and the values that empower them to "just say no" and use good judgment when they are out on their own?
One of my colleagues informed me of a man whom he heard tell an unfortunate story with a critical message on this very issue.
This was a professional man who spent his entire adult life working hard to achieve financial success for himself and his family. He was very committed to accomplishing extraordinary things in his professional life, and he did. He owned five major companies and was worth millions of dollars. He recently found out that this wasn't everything.
One night, after flying his personal airplane to a business meeting, he received a startling call in the middle of the night from his wife. He jumped as his wife proceeded to tell him that his daughter in law was killed in a house fire and his two grandchildren were critically injured. Stunned by the news, he flew out the next morning, after his meeting, and arrived home in time to hear the doctor inform the family that both of the children had died.
Crushed by this horrible news, he couldn't imagine things getting worse, but they did. Within just a few days, his son was arrested and charged with the crime. He is currently serving a life sentence.
This man's message is very powerful and very sad. Imagine his pain. Imagine the questions he must have. I would wonder to myself, "did I do all I can to raise my family with the right values? Did I do all I can to instill a value system that supported a loving home in which every person knew they were important, a value system based on love and understanding, and a value system free from drugs?"
Is this the kind of home you are creating? Don't answer this question with the spontaneous "of course" like many people thoughtlessly do. Think very carefully about whether your day-to-day actions match your response.
Many times, while your intention is to raise a drug free family, you are creating a drug dependent one without even realizing it. You actually program drug dependency into your family's behavior!
What do I mean by this? How could this be? Please follow along with me for a minute without judgment and open yourself up to this information as you read on…
It could make a big difference in the outcome of your child's life.
Think about what happens when your baby is born and he/she gets sick for the first time. If you have not educated yourself about your child's natural immunity and how it develops, you might immediately run to your doctor in a panic to alleviate your child's apparent suffering, at any price, and give your child a drug.
As they grow up to become toddlers they may get another cold or infection and so they won't "suffer", you give them a drug. They continue to grow up and each time they complain they don't feel good, what do you do to make them feel better? You run to the drug store and get them an over the counter drug.
Finally, they are old enough to go to school and the teacher tells you that your child isn't concentrating or sitting still. Rather then look for alternative ways to teach, like many good teachers do, the child is labeled hyperactive or attention deficit and given a drug, Ritalin. It is amazing that in some schools, 50% of the children are on Ritalin, while in others less than 5% of the kids are on this drug that has severe side effects.
Drug companies market their products, drugs, to physicians and parents with little emphasis placed on these side effects. Ritalin, for example, includes side effects such as insomnia, appetite loss, stunted growth and suicide. Antibiotics cause digestive disturbances and create highly resistant bacteria that cause super infections, which strain your immune system and are

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