Put Your Pediatrician on the Spot!

Parent Resources, Substance Abuse, Teen Health

Put Your Pediatrician on the Spot!

Early in my career, one request would put me on the spot: “Dr. Park, could you give my kid the talk about drugs?” Before I had enough experience as both a pediatrician and as a parent, I would probably have said something fairly generic like, “Sure! Using drugs will lead you down a difficult, dark path. If you’re put in that position, just say no…” and probably some information about what drugs can do, then making sure they can talk to their parents and me. .

This is important, because pediatricians are in a good position to have a significant impact on teen substance abuse. Along with their parents and teachers, the pediatrician will (hopefully) be a trusted, valuable resource that the teen is already familiar with. It is a critical time because teens are only starting to learn how to control their impulses, consider long term consequences, and resist peer pressure. Research does show that when a pediatrician does take the time to bring up drug and alcohol use, both proactively and when there are reasons for concern, it does lower rates of use in the short and long terms. You can imagine that the effect is even better when the family has had a long-standing, connected relationship with their pediatrician. 

Something else I remember about these moments is that parents would often ask as if they weren’t sure this is something they could ask, but they really wanted to. Well, given the research, pediatricians should have the talk, and it’s something I learned early on to do even if the parents don’t ask for it. So don’t feel embarrassed about asking. If they haven’t gotten to it yet, or you want to bring it up earlier because you have concerns, go ahead. All we want is what’s best!