Substance Use Prevention Starts With Recognising Destructive Behaviour – Expert

A behavioural development coach, David Folaranmi, has urged parents to pay attention to destructive behavioural patterns in their children, saying substance use prevention should begin before experimentation develops into addiction.

Folaranmi, who recently marked nine years in recovery after a seven year struggle with addiction, said families often focus on substance use when it has already become a serious problem, rather than recognising the behavioural changes and risk factors that may precede it.

“Substance use can be prevented in our society, but it must start from the home,” he said during a recent television interview.

Drawing from his work in behavioural development and his lived experience, Folaranmi said a stable home and good upbringing remain important but do not automatically protect young people from destructive behaviour.

He recalled meeting educated young people from seemingly stable families while living in drug bunks in Abuja during his years of addiction.

“A lot of people have this myth that it is people from bad homes that end up struggling with substance use. That is not true,” he said.

Folaranmi said parents must look beyond financial provision and become more attentive to changes in their children’s behaviour, relationships, routines and ability to cope with pressure.

“Your presence is more important than the presents you offer to them,” he said.

He noted that environment, peer relationships, repeated exposure, emotional difficulties and coping mechanisms can influence how behaviour develops over time.

His own parents, he recalled, were initially unprepared when he disclosed in 2013 that he was struggling with cocaine addiction. Despite having a loving and supportive family, there was limited understanding of the problem and how best to respond.

Folaranmi said this experience reinforces the need for parents to develop greater awareness of behavioural risk factors and equip their children with life skills, emotional resilience and sound decision making abilities.

He added that where substance use has already progressed into addiction, families should seek professional help rather than allow stigma or fear of judgement to delay intervention.

For Folaranmi, effective prevention begins with understanding behaviour before drugs become the obvious problem.

Parents, he said, may not be able to control every influence their children encounter, but greater presence, early recognition of destructive patterns and appropriate intervention can help prevent those patterns from developing into more serious problems.