Telling drug stories to your kids a bad idea, study shows

A new study says that you shouldn't tell your kids about your past drug use.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that kids' views on drugs soften when parents say they've done them.

The study looked at 253 Hispanic and 308 white children in grades six to eight.

Researchers asked about conversations they've had with their parents about cigarettes, alcohol and marijuana, said HealthDay.

About 80 percent of parents told their kids they had dabbled in drugs, said Live Science.

Although previous research has shown that talking to your kids about your own experiences deters them from doing the same, this study showed the opposite.

"Parents may want to reconsider whether they should talk to their kids about times when they used substances in the past and not volunteer such information, said lead researcher Jennifer A. Kam, in a statement. 

"Of course, it is important to remember this study is one of the first to examine the associations between parents' references to their own past substance use and their adolescent children's subsequent perceptions and behaviors."

The moral of the story: lie to your kids.

The findings were published in the journal Human Communication Research.