Addiction prevention

All parents want to see their children grow up safely and provide them with reliable support on their way to a happy life. But what if your child has their first experiences with tobacco and alcohol during puberty or even comes into contact with illegal addictive substances such as drugs?

Addiction is usually associated with addictive substances such as tobacco, alcohol, medication or drugs such as cannabis. However, there are also addictive behaviors that express themselves through overeating or starvation, gambling, shopping or media addiction. Addiction is when the person concerned, for example, compulsively starves themselves, regularly drinks themselves into a frenzy, can no longer stop gambling or uncontrollably buys things that are not needed or used.

Addiction often has a history. Some children learn at an early age that small "comforters" help them get over sorrow. The lower their self-esteem and self-confidence, the greater the risk of developing addictive behavior later on. You can counteract this by strengthening your child's personality right from the start. With healthy self-confidence, it will be easier for your daughter or son to say no to tobacco, alcohol or drugs later on.

The Portal "Kinder stark machen für ein suchtfreies Leben" of the Federal Institute of Public Health (BIÖG) is aimed directly at parents and offers lots of information and tips to prevent addictive behavior in children later on.

A lot of things come together during puberty. Children get older, want to go their own way, test boundaries and rebel against their parents. The influence of friends also increases during this time. In order to show courage in the clique or to impress others, tobacco and alcohol come into play at some point. You will not be able to completely avoid testing your limits and these first experiences. It becomes problematic when addictive substances become permanent "escape aids" because conflicts and problems can supposedly no longer be solved without addictive substances. However, you can actively support your child in clearly recognizing the risks of addictive substances and dealing with them responsibly.

If your child tests their limits during puberty, this is completely normal and not automatically a cause for excessive concern. It often remains a temporary phase. If the beginnings develop into serious problems, you can find advice here: