Is your child getting drawn to drugs? Don't look away and don't give up

Young people may get tempted to experiment with drugs. Good parenting can stop them from going down that slippery slope.

- Tan Chong Huat

In Singapore, where we have long upheld a zero-tolerance stance on drugs, one quiet shift is becoming harder to ignore: among youth, attitudes towards drug use are softening. Curiosity, stress and social influence, amplified by online content that downplays risk, are reshaping perceptions. This signals an urgent need to revisit what effective prevention looks like and where it must begin.

It must begin with parents getting involved. And it can work. For Mrs Ann Goh, the lesson came too late, even though she had spotted the signs. Her son Isaac, then 19 and serving national service, began withdrawing from the family, snapping easily, and sleeping odd hours. He lost weight. His energy and routines changed. Mrs Goh sensed something was off, but she hesitated to confront him, unsure of how to start a difficult conversation without driving him further away.

Four years later, Isaac was arrested for abusing crystal methamphetamine, or Ice. He was 23. His habit had taken root during those army days, introduced through a friend's contact, easily obtained via apps like Telegram. By the time the family understood the depth of the issue, he was being escorted into the Drug Rehabilitation Centre (DRC).