Mum tells of how she saved her son

A mother-of-five who successfully got her eldest son away from the habit of sniffing glue said at the height of his addiction, she confiscated 10 cans of the industrial adhesive from his school bag.

She said she got him out of it by talking to him and explaining how he had changed for the worse ever since he took it up.

Speaking to The Fiji Times on the condition of anonymity, the mother said her eldest son started to mix around with the wrong group of boys from their area and was lured into “sniffing”.

“When we moved here (Suva) from the north, he was a good boy, he did do any of these things,” she said.

“As the year went by, he befriended people from around here and started to act out. He would ditch school to hang out with the group and sniff glue and smoke cigarettes, he was just in Year 9 when he was doing this.

“I confiscated approximately 10 glue cans from his bag during the height of his sniffing, it was sad and shocking.”

She said she decided to address the issue before his addiction worsened or he progressed to using other dangerous drugs.

“I sat him down one day and we had a chat. No smacking or yelling, just a normal conversation to find out why he was doing it.

“He told me that he wanted to be cool and hang with the cool kids in the area and he felt good sniffing it.

“I made him realise how much he had changed since he started sniffing — from his declining mind-set, his failing schoolwork and the way his siblings were detached from him.”

She said the pep-talk worked as he stopped hang out with the “sniffers” and agreed to seek professional help.

“We agreed that seeking professional help and a rehab program would help him get back on track. So, months later he is doing well, his schoolwork is great, he has new friends, and our family is a happy one again.”