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

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. -=-=-=-=- Thank you sponsors & partners: Audible - Get a FREE audiobook and 30-day free trial: www.audibletrial.com/widowedparent BetterHelp - Talk with a licensed, professional therapist online. Get 10% off your first month: betterhelp.com/widowedparent Blue Apron - Special offers for listeners of the podcast: jennylisk.com/blueapron Grief Coach - Grief support text messaging service. Tips and support delivered all year long, personalized based on your loss. Listeners get $10 off: https://grief.coach/jennylisk/ Support the show: Patreon, Merch, and More -=-=-=-=-