Jessica Lahey on Inoculating Our Kids Against the Risk of Substance Abuse

“The one bottom-line message for me is delay, delay, delay. And mainly that comes down to the fact that I just keep repeating to them how much their risk factors for all kinds of negative outcomes go down with each passing year that they’re not using substances.”

— Jessica Lahey

I had such a great discussion with Jessica Lahey for this episode. Jess is a bestselling parenting author, and her first book is called The Gift of Failure. Today we talk about her second book, out this week, called The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence. This is such an important topic, especially with the rising rates of teen mental health issues that we were seeing even before the pandemic. The book is very well researched, but it’s not a dry academic tome; Jess weaves in stories from her own life as well as stories of real teens and the challenges they face.

Some topics Jess and I discuss include:

• When the experts say “substance abuse is preventable,” what does this mean?

• How genetics, epigenetics, and environment work together to affect a person’s risk of substance abuse;

• How Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) come into play here;

• Balancing risk factors against protective factors;

• Risks of substances on adolescent brains that are still developing;

• The importance of talking to kids and teens about brain development and how their brains work;

• Why the “Just Say No” and “Scared Straight” approaches are not effective;

• Why parents can’t assume that this topic is being adequately addressed at school;

• When to start conversations related to substance abuse prevention with our kids;

• Tips for having these discussions; and

• Why her bottom-line message for parents is “delay, delay, delay.”

I hope you enjoy my discussion with Jessica Lahey.

Links & resources for this episode

• Find Jessica Lahey: Website | Twitter | Instagram

• The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence, by Jessica Lahey

• The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed, by Jessica Lahey

• #AmWriting Podcast - for writers & aspiring writers

• The Deepest Well, by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris

• Quit Like a Woman, by Holly Whitaker

• Take the ACEs Quiz - for info on Adverse Childhood Experiences

• samhsa.gov - substance abuse & mental health resources

• Parenting Series: Interviews with Julie Lythcott-Haims, KJ Dell’Antonia, and Dr. Lisa Damour on the Widowed Parent Podcast

More links for listeners

• Download: Kids & Grief: What You Need to Know

• Article: I’m a Widowed Mom: Here Are My 3 Tips for COVID-19 Widows

• Book: Widowed Parents Unite: 52 Tips to Get Through the First Year, from One Widowed Parent to Another

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