PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) — KDKA’s Mike Pintek talked to Dr. Anna McManus-Gay, a couples and family therapist about new research regarding parents and drug use.

McManus-Gay is also the director of the Stepfamily Connection of North Hills and talks about new research that says Parents should lie to their children about their former drug use. The study suggests that even when parents talk about the negative affects of their drug use, their kids are more likely to try drugs anyway.

Mike thinks that parents should be honest with their kids because they could lose credibility with their children, but McManus-Gay says there is no wrong answer. However, in her 36 years of experience, she says she has found that, “when you tell your children things that you’ve done, it comes right back to bite you.”

She also said, “a year later they’re experimenting with drugs and you catch them and they say, ‘well you did it.’”

McManus-Gay also suggests parents wait until their sons and daughters are at least 21 years old to tell them about any drug experiences that they have had.

Listen to Mike Pintek every weekday from noon to 3 p.m. on NewsRadio 1020 KDKA.