Christy Crandell wants you to know something.

Her son served prison time for armed robbery something he did while under the influence of over-the-counter cough medicine.

It was something I completely missed when my kids were growing up, she said. We had no idea about cough medicine abuse. She doesnt want you to miss the same thing.

Think about it. Cough medicine. So easy to get, right there in your own medicine cabinet. Parents sometimes dont understand how serious it can get, she said. Its so accessible and if you dont know about it, youre not doing anything to safeguard.

Unfortunately, Crandell isnt the only mother who discovered these amazing facts about cough medicine. And so she is helping get the word out, partly through a campaign called #tomyteen during this, National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month.

The hashtag crusade is aimed to show our teens that we think they are pretty awesome. It sounds obvious, but its important to remember that teens who are validated and appreciated by their parents are much less likely to fall to bad peer pressure.

Parents are looking for positive ways to interact with teens, rather than lecture or punish them, said Scott Melville, the CEO of the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. He said CHPAs members started hearing that cough medicine was being abused, particularly by teens, starting about 10 years ago. One in 25 teens abuses cough medicine, he said. Thats one kid in every classroom.

The big issue here, said Deborah Gilboa, a family physician and mother of four boys, is that as parents, were never going to be standing there next to them when they are facing a decision that has serious consequences. She offers three things you can do to help kids faced with peer pressure or the desire to just give something like this a try:

Dont leave any subject off limits. If you dont tell your kids what your views are, they will only listen to popular culture or peers. They should get to hear what we think. You want them to know that you know what they are facing.

You should be trustworthy. Live the values you talk about. If you think texting and driving is a dangerous thing to do, you have to actually not text and drive yourself. If you want your child to call you when they are in a bad spot socially, you have to actually make yourself available so they know they have a safe place to land. Tell them, Gilboa said, I know youve told me that there wont be drinking at this party. But if there is and you find yourself in a bad spot, call me and you wont get in trouble. And then mean it when they call.

See the original post here:

Is your teen abusing cough medicine?