Partners in CrimeConcealment and teen drug/alcohol use are definite partners in crime. If drug use or alcohol abuse were hobbies as simple as taking up an instrument or dancing classes, then maybe concealment would not even be a concern for your defiant teen. But since your teen is evidently aware of the grave matter he/she is getting him/herself into when he/she gets entangled in the web of substance abuse, he/she knows that one's own treacherous tracks cannot simply be left out in the open for all to see. Here’s where concealment comes into the picture. There are several lies your teenager may have to make in order to keep his/her substance abuse under wraps and continue doing things as he/she pleases. - Your teen may lie about where he/she is going. Areas wherein drug/alcohol abuse may occur can be generally dangerous, unsupervised places. Instead of mentioning the actual location, he/she may mention a safe place for local teens you are familiar with.
- Your teen can lie about who he/she will be with. Your teen's peer group who engage him/her in substance abuse may have a bad reputation, he/she may answer that he’ll be hanging with neighborhood pals instead.
- Your teen can lie about what he/she will do with his allowance or money you give him/her. He/she can easily pretend he/she spends all his allowance on food or material things.
- Your teen can lie about why exactly the stereo in his/her room suddenly disappeared from sight. When you notice that something valuable has disappeared from sight in his/her room, he/she may quickly answer with a story about how he/she lent it to a close friend, distracting you until it passes your mind and you no longer notice it is gone.
- Your teen can lie about the nature of mysterious traces of substances you may find around the house or in his/her room. Strange powders you may be unfamiliar with can be mistaken for something entirely different.
- He/she may lie about school, and how he/she is really faring in classes. If your teen’s school counselors or teachers don’t inform you soon enough, you may really have no clue as to how your child is actually doing.
- Your teen may lie about possible problems with peers that he/she may be having.
The list can go on. But the main gist is the simple fact that your teen may go to the extreme just to cover up his/her tracks and ensure his/her abuse of the substance continually in the future. The physical signs of the abuse of a substance may be hard to catch at the onset of experimentation but once a teenager is caught in the habit, use may be fairly evident in his/her physical manner.
Once you notice these physical changes or health problems and you approach him/her directly, it is difficult for him/her to answer you straight if he/she is already entangled within the abuse.
|
