Empowering Parents: Workshop on Substance Abuse Awareness at Jan Seva

On April 17, 2025, a powerful and eye-opening workshop was organized at Jan Seva for selected parents of the ECCEC and Udaan programs. Conducted by Parvarish Care Foundation, New Delhi, the session aimed to raise awareness about substance abuse and its far-reaching impact on families, especially children.

What is Substance Abuse?

Substance abuse refers to the harmful or hazardous use of psychoactive substances—including alcohol, nicotine, inhalants, drugs, and steroids—that alter the way individuals think, feel, or behave.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Managing Screen Time for Adults and Children

2. Influence of Parental Habits: Alcohol, Nicotine, Drugs, and Other Substances

The workshop was skillfully facilitated by Mrs. Monica Sachdev, Ms. Shruti Dalela, and Mrs. Saba Islam, who made the session interactive and participatory. They effectively highlighted how these societal issues are becoming increasingly pervasive, subtly marketed, and often overlooked within households.

To encourage open dialogue, the session began with engaging ice-breaking activities, helping parents feel comfortable sharing their personal experiences and concerns.

One of the focal points was the impact of screen time. Trainers explained how continuous exposure to mobile screens is reducing attention spans to as little as 45 seconds. Adults are experiencing concentration issues, eye strain, and spinal problems, while children are facing delayed speech development, reduced creativity, poor communication skills, and even childhood obesity due to lack of physical activity.

Shockingly, the problem of mobile addiction was found to affect both typically developing children and those with special needs equally.

Substance Abuse: The Alarming Reality

The workshop presented hard-hitting statistics:

• 18 crore people aged between 10 to 78 years are addicted to some form of substance.

  
  

• Every year, 700 deaths are attributed to substance abuse.

  
  

• 18 lakh children are already caught in the grip of drug addiction.

Mrs. Monica Sachdev elaborated on the "Addiction Cycle", explaining how the dopamine hormone—released during pleasurable activities—creates dependency on substances and devices. She emphasized how tech companies and substance manufacturers cleverly manipulate user preferences to drive consumption, turning users into products rather than empowered individuals.

A Transformative Experience

The session concluded on a hopeful note, as parents openly acknowledged their own habits and expressed a willingness to embrace positive changes. Many shared their realizations and thanked the facilitators for creating a safe space for such an important conversation.

Teachers and coordinators from the ECCEC and Udaan programs—Mrs. Twisha Ganguli and Mrs. Anindita Sengupta—also participated, reinforcing the shared responsibility between educators and families in tackling these pressing issues.

This impactful workshop served as a reminder that even small changes in daily habits can significantly enhance the well-being and future of our children.