Key Points from Preventing Addiction

• Chemical addiction occurs when young, immature brains are exposed to addicting substances that cause permanent physical changes in brain structure and function. Once addicted, the individual can never be cured or become "unaddicted."

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• Early first use is the key to understanding young people and addiction: the younger an individual is at time of first use, the more likely it is that addiction will develop.

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• Most parents wait far too long before they consider ways to prevent addiction-or detect secret use of alcohol and drugs. This book advocates an early and proactive stance.

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• To effectively prevent addiction, parents must observe and monitor their children and the activities in which they're involved, and Dr. Fleming outlines strategies that hold both parents and children accountable.

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• Moral character and a spiritual life are of critical importance when making life choices, and this book helps parents guide their children through the difficult adolescent years.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Foreword
• Chapters:
  1. What You Don't Know Can Hurt Your Children
  2. Experience is the First Teacher
  3. A Lesson in Chemistry—What You Must Know
  4. A Child's Developing Brain
  5. “Imprinting” and Addiction
  6. Treatment of Addiction: Cause for Hope or Fruitless Effort?
  7. We're Failing to Protect Our Children
  8. Moral Character
  9. Parental Practices and Preventing Addiction
  10. Addiction and the Family
  11. High Risk Activities that can Lead to Addiction
  12. Don't Act too Late or too Slowly
  13. How to Detect, Deter, and Monitor for Addicting Drugs—and Why you Should!
  14. Diseases that often Occur With Drug Addiction
  15. A Model Blueprint to Raise a Non-Addicted Person (NAP)
  16. Outcomes of Addiction
  17. “The Beginning”
• Resources and Selected Bibliography