The Addiction Inoculation in My Office video series is available on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, my YouTube channel, and LinkedIn. To make life even easier, here’s a linked guide to all the episodes.
Who the heck am I to tell you anything about anything?
Why do we need to worry about substance use in kids?
Yep, I’m alcoholic and here’s my story.
Why are addictive substances a thing?
What’s the gateway hypothesis or initiation sequence?
Brain development and substance use, part I
Brain development and substance use, part II
Brain development, substance use, and dopamine
Brain development in adolescence and learning
Neurodevelopment and why substances mess with it
How the addictive substances adolescents crave can be the most damaging to the brain
Why stress feels more stressful during adolescence
Sleep, addictive substances, and teens
More on sleep and why it’s so important
Good news! Substance use is down overall and how we keep it going in that direction
Bad news! Some substance use is up.
Alcohol and the teenage brain, part I
Alcohol and the teenage brain, part II
Alcohol and the teenage brain, part III
A great resource: The Huberman Lab podcast episodes I love
But WHY do kids use substances?
Risk factors and counterbalancing protective factors
Life experience and substance use disorder risk
Scary risk factors and why we have to be able to face and talk about them
ACEs, or adverse childhood experiences
Finishing up with ACEs and who they affect
ACE scores and what that means for risk for substance use disorder
Categories of ACEs, or adverse childhood experiences
Late-breaking results of an MMWR study on ACEs
Why do ACEs affect risk of substance use disorder? Toxic stress.
Academic failure and risk of substance use disorder
An interlude with Moby and the leaf blower
Childhood aggression and substance use disorder risk
Transitions and substance use risk
Moving on to protective factors!
Protective factor: banish secrets and shame
Protective factor: knowing (and being honest about) your family history
[How] should we keep alcohol in the house if we have kids?
[How] should we keep alcohol in the house if we have kids, part II
Protective factor: self-efficacy!
Protective factor: self-efficacy part II
Modeling self-efficacy for kids
Self-efficacy part IV (it’s that important)
Self-efficacy and our belief in our children to succeed
Goal-setting as a great way to build self-efficacy
Self-efficacy: make failures specific and successes as general as possible
Elaborating on making failure specific and success as general as possible
Protective factor: allies and specific people you can look to for help
Protective factor: primary health care providers
More on risk screening for kids
Protective factors: school nurses and school counselors
Maximizing the protective efficacy of health care providers for our kids
To sip or not to sip? Kids and drinking at home
False pretense: that romantic myth of raising European moderate drinkers
False pretense: “Kids are going to drink, so why not do it at home, where they are safe?”
Blackout Wednesday, or Drinksgiving
Protective factor: mindfulness
Protective factor: reframing stress for kids
How mindfulness promotes cognitive integration and reduces risk of substance use
Protective factor, more on reframing stress
Sleep and substance use part II
Sleep and substance use part III
Why my 2 kids had 2 very different sets of rules around alcohol
What we know DOES NOT WORK for substance use prevention
Why “because I said so” does not work for kids
What’s authoritative parenting and why does it work so well for substance use prevention?
What’s authoritative parenting and why does it work so well for substance use prevention part II
How culture shapes substance use rates and behaviors
Family culture as a foundation for family behaviors around substance use
So what do we do when kids screw up?
The power of natural (and logical) consequences
What if addiction runs in the family?
What if one sibling uses addictive substances?
Are certain personality types more susceptible to substance use/disorder?
Divorce, separation, and substance use risk
What role does gender play in substance use risk?
Viewer question: Is it ever OK to drink/use in front of your kids?
Viewer question: How do the Laheys handle having alcohol at home?
What role does gender play in cannabis use/misuse?
What role does gender play in stimulant use/misuse?
Chapter 7: We Have to Talk About It. Starting the conversation
10 questions I asked my kids during our Hot Ones game in order to know them better
Making kids feel heard and supported so they will talk to us about hard things
More ways to get kids to talk to us about hard things
Even more ways to get kids to talk to us about hard things
Kids know when we are listening with an agenda, let’s really listen so they will keep talking
How to pick your battles so kids will listen
Be their parent, not their friend
Hot take: substance use prevention starts before kindergarten
How do I teach my kids not to use drugs/alcohol if I use(d) drugs/alcohol?
What does substance use prevention look like for kids in pre-k and kindergarten?
The specifics of pre-k and kindergarten substance use prevention
Turning expectations around healthy behaviors into practices that stick
Should you shield your kid from family members with active substance use disorder?
Using stories and humor to start conversations with little kids about hard things
Teaching little kids about prescription drug misuse
Why substance use prevention conversations can get easier as kids get older.
Okay, but HOW do I shield my child from a family member with active substance use disorder?
What is inoculation theory and how does it work?
How do I explain Uncle Ted’s smoking or Aunt Petunia’s drinking to my kid?
Why booze companies work so hard to gain kids’ brand loyalty at an early age.
Kids HATE being manipulated, so use that to teach them about how advertising works.
Using hypothetical “what if” scenarios to have no harm no foul conversations about substances.
How our kids’ friends affect their risk for substance use.
Does your kid have an escape hatch?
Nope, giving kids sips does not protect them from substance use disorder.
Oh, you want proof that sipping as a kid increases risk for substance use disorder?
What factors predict early initiation of drinking in kids?
Factors that mitigate risk of early initiation of substance use.
Time to bust the problematic myth of “those moderate European drinkers”
The specifics of who drinks the most and the least in Europe.
How public health initiatives are changing to align with the science of alcohol and the human body.
High school: the most recent numbers on how many kids use drugs and alcohol.
High school and opioid misuse: who is using them and how often?
Because you asked: a primer on fentanyl
What role do friends play in substance use risk?
The changing role of friendship and its role in substance use risk.
Okay, but WHY are kids more likely to drink/drug if their friends drink/drug?
For those of you freaking out, friendship can work the other way, too.
It’s not just about peer pressure, but peer presence (and binge drinking mice!)
How can be we help kids make healthy decisions about friendships?
How can we help kids choose healthy, positive friendships?
We parent in collaboration with the parents of our kids’ friends.
How do we help our kids strengthen their own sense of identity?
Is there a book I can hand my kids about all of this? Yes, there is.
Face-saving ways to turn down drugs and alcohol, by kids for kids (1)
Face-saving ways to turn down drugs and alcohol, by kids for kids (2)
Face-saving ways to turn down drugs and alcohol, by kids for kids (3)
Face-saving ways to turn down drugs and alcohol, by kids for kids (4)
What do I do if my (friend, kid, spouse) is struggling with substances? (1)
What do I do if my (friend, kid, spouse) is struggling with substances? (2)
What do I do if my (friend, kid, spouse) is struggling with substances? (3)
What do I do if my (friend, kid, spouse) is struggling with substances? (4)
What do I do if my (friend, kid, spouse) is struggling with substances? (5)
What do I do if my (friend, kid, spouse) is struggling with substances? (6)
What can schools do to prevent substance use? A lot.
It’s time to introduce you to Georgia.
What are the most effective school-based substance use prevention programs?
What is social-emotional learning (SEL) and why do some people want it banned?
What do I do if my kid ate my special medicated candy??
What do I do if my kid ate my special medicated candy (2)
What do I do if my kid ate my special medicated candy (3)
What does effective substance use prevention programs look like in pre-k/k?
What do effective elementary school substance use prevention programs look like?
What do effective middle school substance use prevention programs look like?
What do effective high school substance use prevention programs look like?
Drinking in college: perception drives reality
Why do we overestimate who drinks and how much, especially in college?
If perceptions of drinking shapes reality, how do we establish a reality based on truth?
What percentage of college kids drink, and how much?
The heaviest binge drinkers consume 72% of the alcohol consumed on campuses.
How much do most college students drink, then?
Time for some good news about drinking in college
Turns out, the “why” behind the drinking matters
More good news: even when in college, parents still matter
How to talk to your college student about drinking
How to talk to your college student about drinking (part 2)
Now that we have done the HOW, let’s talk about WHAT to tell your college kid about drinking
What to tell your college kid about drinking (part 2)
New study: why kids say they use drugs
What’s in a harm reduction kit and why you should have one
Substance use prevention is a social justice issue
But WHY is “family dinner” such a powerful prevention tool?
All the negative outcomes research shows “family dinner” can help prevent
Deaths fully attributable to alcohol consumption are up 29%
Why do kids think family dinner is important & useful?
The important communication that happens at “family dinner”
Conclusions and takeaways from this deep dive into why family dinner matters