When kids don't listen to their parents, they often suffer from consequences that could have been avoided. They tend to make poor decisions when think they can get away with something and often possess a false sense of certainty that bad things won't happen to them.

Warning signs and advice from their parents, who have learned from experience, are ignored. Kids don't always realize that foresight to them is hindsight to people who've experienced the same things.

When it relates to the topic of teens and their willingness to experiment with drugs, parents would be well advised to follow the very advice they bestow on their own kids: learn from people who have been there.

In the past, the words "My kid would never do that" have historically been followed by "Where did I go wrong?" "How could I have missed it?" and "I had no idea" only AFTER police or school officials provide the proof ... and consequences of teen substance abuse. It doesn't have to be that way.

Christy Crandell, the author of Lost and Found: A Mother and Son Find Victory over Teen Drug Addiction, is a proponent of the new trend of home drug testing because talking to kids about drugs isn't always enough. Parents can talk to their kids and tell them to "Just say no," but kids still struggle with what to say next when the peer pressure gets even stronger. The words "No thanks, my parents test me" have become an increasingly popular and socially acceptable excuse that can stop pushy peers in their tracks.

Dr. Michael Reznicek, one of our nation's leading authorities on the subject of home drug testing, urges the use of a parent child contract. He believes that parents must inspect what they expect, but only after clearly communicating and consistently following through on those expectations, which is where many parents fall short. As part of the contract, he urges the inclusion of rewards as well as consequences tied to the results of home drug tests.

Ever since kids started doing drugs, parents have been at the bottom of the list of people who knew about it. However, that may change quickly for parents who embrace the growing trend of home drug testing.

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