Every parent or caretaker wants their children to thrive as happy, independent adults. But the transition from childhood to adulthood is riddled with dangerous obstacles and tricky situations, and one of the most detrimental can be the peril of substance abuse. The easy availability of various substances, coupled with the increasing stresses of everyday life, peer pressure, and the very nature of their still-developing brains, can make kids extremely vulnerable to drug and alcohol abuse.

Discussing drugs and alcohol with your kids can be difficult for any number of reasons and applying too much negative pressure can have the opposite effect that you may be hoping for. In the eight lessons of How to Talk to Your Kids About Drugs and Alcohol, Dr. Sharon Levy brings her years of expertise as a pediatrician specializing in childhood development and behavior to show you the best way to present this crucial information to the young people in your life. Along the way, Dr. Levy will walk you through the development of the brain in childhood and reveal why the young mind is so susceptible to addiction.

With this knowledge of brain development as your foundation, Dr. Levy presents the major substances likely to present addiction and abuse issues: alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, opioids, and more. As you journey through these difficult topics and learn how to discuss them with your children, Dr. Levy stresses the difference between prevention and harm reduction and helps guide you to a better understanding you can pass along to your kids. As you will see, these challenging but vital discussions can help them grasp the very real dangers of substance abuse—and carry that knowledge with them throughout their lives.