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A D V I C E A N D I N F O R M A T I O N : P A R E N T I N G A D V I C E
Kids and gambling: Know the signs of ‘silent addiction’
With all the trouble teens can get into these days, a poker game between friends sounds pretty benign. After all, they’re safe inside, not out drinking and driving.
I remember the nickel-a-bet card games I played growing up. It was harmless fun. But then, there wasn’t the allure of televised poker tournaments, the ease of online gambling or a roadside casino every 30 miles.
To bored kids looking for a rush, these temptations may prove irresistible. In no time, what started as an occasional game of Texas Hold ’Em has bloomed into a full-blown addiction.
At Youth Eastside Services, parents tell us their kids appear to be obsessed with online games. It never occurred to them that their teens might have a real gambling problem, sometimes called the “silent addiction”.
That’s why public education is an important part of the Teen Problem Gambling program we started last year. (In 2006, YES became the first state-funded agency in Washington to treat young people, ages 12 to 20, for problem and compulsive gambling.)
State statistics show that the rate of teen gambling is more than double that of adults: Eight out of 10 Washington teens have gambled at some point in their lives, and up to 7.4 percent of all adolescents will experience serious problems with their gambling.
Unfortunately, they aren’t likely to seek help on their own. That’s why parents and other adults in the community need to be aware of the warning signs, including:
- The sudden appearance of large amounts of cash and/or an unexplained need for money;
- Valuables and money missing from the home and/or the sale of prized possessions;
- Falling grades, school absences and tardiness;Excessive time spent on-line and intensive TV sports watching;
- Short, late-night telephone calls, and calls to 900 numbers;
- Mood swings, secrecy and/or criminal activity. Young problem gamblers also are more likely to have suicidal thoughts.
Chris Sogn, our substance and gambling abuse counselor, knows from working with one young man that gambling guilt can be crushing. He told her that he didn’t know how he could live with himself after losing $2,000 on his dad’s credit card during a three-day binge.
Chris tells me that “these kids will do anything to get money. Gambling becomes all they can think about. It completely takes over.”
Her advice for parents, besides being aware, is to get involved in healthy pastimes as a family. Boredom is the number one reason youth give when asked how they fell into gambling.
And if your teen exhibits any of the warning signs, get help right away from a professional who is trained in all forms of addiction – even those not readily visible.
‘Parenting Lifeline’ is a monthly column in the Bellevue Reporter newspapers by YES Executive Director Patti Skelton-McGougan. For more information call 425-747-4937 or ChristianB@YouthEastsideServices.org
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