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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance. We are heading into a time of year now when teenagers have a bit more freedom and a bit more free time. The school holidays and the brighter evenings mean that they're off the leash to a certain extent.
But the HSE is asking parents this week to keep a closer eye on teenagers and to know the signs if they're drinking alcohol or if they're taking drugs. I'm joined now by consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with the HSE, Professor Bobby Smith. Bobby, you're very welcome. Thank you for being here. So this is the time of year, is it, where there's a bit more risk around all of this?
I suppose it's time of year, Clare, when kids are increasingly off school or about to get off school.
Chapter 2: What challenges do parents face during summer holidays with teens?
That gives them a little bit more unstructured time. We as parents are often still working. So there's a bit of a mismatch there between our ability to supervise and the amount of freedom they have. So it's definitely a time to think again about how they're going to best use that time. And you're going to do your best to try and keep track of them, I suppose.
This weather as well. I mean, there is a tendency, I think, to let them have a bit more freedom when you've got the longer evenings. And if it's sunny and warm, sure, you might as well stay out and away from the house.
Yeah. And there's definitely value to be had in some of that unstructured time out and about with your friends and going and exploring new places.
Chapter 3: What signs should parents look for regarding alcohol and drug use?
Yeah. But I suppose as parents, maybe our task is to try and be kept in the loop in terms of what the plans are, where people are going. There might be some plans you might decide, actually, I don't quite think that's something you're ready for quite yet. So you might have to say no to some things. But yeah, I suppose ideally, you know, kids learn by doing.
So what are the risks then that you're particularly focused on?
I suppose the key focus of school The work that related to work I do and the message today is about, I suppose, alcohol and drugs. And I suppose a substance that we had largely forgotten about is nicotine. And that's sort of reappeared now in the form of vaping. It's not one to ignore. So there are substances that young people may well encounter when they're out and about.
People tend to be introduced to those substances by their friends, people that they like and trust. And it's curiosity that might drive them to a little bit of initial experimentation. So I guess the task for us as parents and adults is to try and ensure when your son or daughter is presented with those choices that they're as well informed as they can be about the risks.
And they're also fairly clear or very clear indeed about our view as parents that we think any decision to use any of those substances as a teenager is a bad idea.
So what age groups are you thinking about when you're saying that? Is it from the age of 11 or 12 up?
I honestly think, yeah, when it comes to nicotine vaping and so on, end of primary school kids are being exposed to these products. There'll definitely be some kids in the class who are doing a bit of vaping or will have vaped, so it'll be part of their conversation.
So I think it's important for us as parents to try and get ahead of these conversations rather than be coming in a year or two after our sons and daughters have heard about them from their mates or social media.
Certainly when we think about having a drink, there'll be people listening to this go, Ash, we all did that when we were young teenagers, but we know so much more now about the damage having alcohol at a young age can do.
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Chapter 4: How can parents effectively supervise their teens during unstructured time?
I suppose what we're hoping our sons and daughters develop over their adolescent years is the skills to manage you know, stressful situations, you're having a crappy day and we all need to learn how to deal with frustration and disappointment, I suppose. And we don't want sons and daughters turning to drink as a way of coping with those challenging times.
The worry is if they do, that becomes their coping strategy that they take with them into adulthood.
OK, so what is your advice for parents, Sam? Because this is really tricky.
Yep. I suppose it's pretty clear that for all substances with under-18s, whether it's nicotine, vapes, whether it's alcohol or indeed drugs, the advice is to be clear that under-18s should not be using any of these substances. And your son or daughter should be clear that that's your view on things.
And your explanation for that is not that you want to control their life or make their life miserable. It's that you want to keep them healthy. So to be explicit on that, one of those that perhaps parents struggle with most, perhaps in Ireland, is the idea of drinking and not drinking till 18.
We know the average age for starting to drink in Ireland is about sort of 15, 16, but parents should not be facilitating that entry into the world of drinking.
Where parents permit drinking, and I know many people listening, they will have already... Some think it's OK to give their teenagers four or five cans because they're going to do it anyway. I'm in the minority by not letting my teenager have alcohol. Now, I think four or five cans is an awful lot. But you say it is happening.
It is happening. And I would applaud that parent who doesn't give that permission. Does that guarantee her son or daughter won't drink? Of course it doesn't.
But what the research tells us very clearly, but Irish research, the winners of the Young Scientist exhibition about 10 years ago confirmed this with Irish research, that where teenagers are given parental permission to drink, they are the ones who give themselves the most permission to drink when they're in settings unsupervised by parents.
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Chapter 5: What risks are associated with teenage experimentation with substances?
You know the way, that's your instinctive reaction.
The moment you become, if anger's taken over you, then you've sort of lost the conversation, I suppose. They're gone. Your challenge is to try to be calm. But to be clear, if things have escalated beyond that where you know there's definitely problems, you know, I think it is about being really clear about what you're seeing that's causing you to be worried. And, yeah.
You know, that you've got to determine if there's further steps needed. And there are some resources out there, sort of conscious that, you know, there's a whole spectrum of parents maybe listening to us, some who've got huge live current worries, others haven't, you know, haven't got any worries as yet, younger kids. But there are resources out there. There's the drugs.ie website.
So drugs.ie forward slash parents. There's a number of webinars there which maybe deal with situations where there's more significant issues and parents could access resources there. Or there's the drug and alcohol helpline as well that can be contacted and people can be signed, posted towards specific supports if they've got a particular concern.
Another listener spoke to her teenage children about the drugs and the dangers of them. And they both told me the drugs are being sold by students in their school. So that's what we're.
Yeah, I would fully believe that, you know, and they will know that.
And we're as well to know it, though, Bobby, aren't we? Completely. To be aware of it.
Yeah. And not be, you know, to be cautious about it and aware of it. And it's a new challenge or it's a challenge maybe parents have always had. But it's there still not to panic about it, but to have a plan.
All right, drugs.ie is where you can go for help in the first instance. Professor Bobby Smith, thank you very much for coming in and thanks as well for your messages. Keep them coming to us on WhatsApp 087 1400 106.
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