When is the right time to expose your kids to information about weed?
The legalization of cannabis comes as a shock to the system for many, but some of those who are most impacted are parents who are currently wading through unchartered territory. When you’ve grown up without any kind of exposure to cannabis use or information outside of the good old Reefer Madness and War on Drugs propaganda, it can be challenging to stray from what you remember from your youth, but it is essential that these difficult conversations find a place around the dinner table.
Those who use cannabis and most who don’t know that it is important to educate their children on the matter, after all, they know enough to be aware of a lingering cloud of judgment that surrounds the topic, and now that it’s legal, the next logical step is normalization. It makes sense to teach your kids about both the dangers and the benefits, but when to start having these conversations is something that is highly debated by both parents and experts alike.
Parents who use cannabis
If you rely on the benefits of cannabis on a regular basis, then the questions are likely to start popping up sooner, and that is especially true if they are openly exposed to its consumption, as they will eventually notice the funny smell or the fact that a joint looks so much different than a cigarette. Children are curious beings, and when the questions begin to roll, it is important that you offer the most honest and well thought out answers that you can.
Lying about your use of cannabis by disguising it as something that it isn’t, can lay the foundation of mistrust, which could significantly impact how they choose to absorb or believe anything that you have to say about it in the future. This isn’t just the case with parents that use cannabis either, because if your kids have uncles, friends, parents, grandparents, or someone else important in their lives who use it, then you should be ready to start explaining things to children that are as young as 4 years old.
Of course, there is no reason to get too far in-depth with your explanations, as you don’t want to complicate an already intricate topic further, and there are some specific guidelines that you’ll want to follow to ensure that you aren’t accidentally causing harm by sensationalizing cannabis consumption. Keep explanations short, simple, and informative, and no matter the age, they’ll be open to what you have to say on the matter.
Parents that don’t use cannabis
Cannabis consumption is definitely a popular subject these days, and as we learn more, we’re seeing an increase in the number of people that use it, be it for medicinal or recreational purposes, but still, there are plenty of children who would grow up oblivious to the idea if it weren’t explained to them purposefully by a parent. The school covers a little bit, but their lessons end at ‘don’t do drugs kids’, and if you want to have a positive impact on their opinion of cannabis, then you’ll need to take the initiative to make it happen.
In this situation, a lot of parents would prefer to hold off until their kids are teenagers, mainly because the subject is a sensitive one that even we as adults don’t always entirely understand, but it is always best to have this conversation long before your children might be hanging out in the smoking pit at high school. That might seem like the time that this kind of information could come in handy, but the reality is that you need them armed long before they come across it in real life so that they’ll know what to do.
Guidelines
These are things that you should or shouldn’t do when the time comes for you to sit down with your kids to have a frank conversation about cannabis.
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Never sensationalize cannabis use
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Be as factual as possible
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Don’t be embarrassed
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Offer an open ear to all questions
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Seek outside assistance and resources whenever it’s necessary
Topics to cover
Since the word kids is a rather general term that could cover youth from infants all the way up to the age of 21 in some states, some of the topics provided below might not be ideal, so instead of making sure that you cover everything here, it’s a good idea to start with topics that you feel most comfortable with and those that are the most age-appropriate. However, by the time your child(ren) teeters on the edge of the teen years, they should know most of what we’ve included here and then some.
- What is cannabis?
- The history of prohibition
- Why do people use cannabis?
- Adverse effects that cannabis consumption can have on youths
- The ideal and legal age of consumption
- The difference between recreational and medicinal use
- The primary elements produced by cannabis
- Medical benefits of cannabinoids
- The difference between alcohol and cannabis
- How to recognize a cannabis edible
- The benefits of topical cannabis products
- Adverse effects that are sometimes associated with cannabis use
