Is your child smoking, using drugs, or drinking alcohol? Some parents aren't guessing anymore. They know.
News 4 WOAI's Bruce Kates recently caught up with two parents testing their own teenagers for alcohol and tobacco. The tests weren't being conducted by a doctor, but by the parents themselves.
So what's involved in this do-it-yourself screening? The test itself takes about 15 minutes. A urine sample from your teen is needed for the drug and tobacco test. Saliva works for the alcohol screening.
The results are almost immediate, but the effects of the test on your family may be lasting.
"Depending on how home drug testing on kids are done, it can change the dynamics between the parents and the children," says psychiatrist Dr. Harry Croft. "Sometimes it puts the parent in the position of being policeman rather than being a parent."
Many parents say they have a right to know about possible drug use by their children and a responsibility to prevent and stop it.
"If you catch it at an early stage in their life, you can deter them from drugs when they're younger," says one parent. "That might help them out later when they're older."
"They might feel like it's an intrusion, but you know, I'm the parent and I have to protect them," says another parent.
And yet one parent says, "I think I'd have enough confidence in my kids that I wouldn't need to do that."
If you do, there's one more concern. No in-home drug test is 100% accurate. Meaning the results you get, may or may not be the real deal.
"The real deal is not just to know whether the child is using drugs or not. The real deal is to change negative behaviors that are going to cause problems for the child and the family," adds Dr. Croft.
You can order a home drug test over the internet just be using a search engine. | 
