How to Stop a Teen From Taking Steroids

In 2006, the Department of Health and Human Services reported that 12% of teenage boys and 2% of teenage girls use steroids. Typically, teenagers use anabolic drugs to enhance their athletic ability and better the appearance of their bodies. The most socially accepted in the teenage world tend to be those with big muscles, lean bodies and whom are extraordinary athletes. We all must help prevent steroid use among teens and the steps below will guide you in that process.

Instructions

    • 1

      Recognize the warning signs that your teenager may be using steroids. Those warning signs include excessive workouts, fast muscle/weight gain, moodiness, rage, aggression, odd eating habits, obsession over body image, jaundice, sudden onset severe acne and persistently bad body odor or breath.

    • 2

      Talk to the coaches for the athletic programs your teen participates in and organize a meeting for the teen athletes and their parents. Play "The Secret Edge," a video about a teen who used steroids and committed suicide (see Resources). Hand out sheets that contain steroid use warning signs to the parents.

    • 3

      Direct your teen to visit the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) website designed specifically for providing teens with information on the effects of steroids on their mind and body (see Resources).

    • 4

      Participate in Athletes Against Steroids, an organization made up of athletes and doctors with the purpose of keeping steroids out of the hands of teens (see Resources). Visit their website often for news and articles on steroid use.

    • 5

      Be supportive and encouraging about your teen's athletic skills and physical appearance, providing only constructive criticism and always balancing that out with complements on his strengths.

    • 6

      Inform your child that all that matters is that she does her best, rather than win. This will help her to have a healthy attitude about sports participation. Typically, teen athletes who use steroids are under a lot of pressure to be the best and win it all, which is the wrong attitude.

    • 7

      Explain to your teenager, before participation in a competitive sport, the mental and physical effects that steroid use has. While steroids have a lot of side effects, they most adversely affect the liver, cardiovascular system and reproductive system.