Parent Q & A

If you caught your child drinking or smoking marijuana how did you discipline him/her? Did you ground your child? Enforce a curfew? Cut allowance? Did your disciplinary action work? Why or why not?

INHALANTS

Huffing and inhalant use are common types of abuse in our youth in Lawrence, Kansas. Approximately seventeen million Americans have abused inhalants at least once in their lives. Inhalant use is especially common among young children; by eighth grade one in five children has experimented with huffing at least once. Inhalants are the fourth most commonly abused substances used by children in eighth to twelfth grade, after alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana. Inhalants are easily accessible in all of our homes. Keep this in mind and look for signs. See these web links for more information.
http://teens.drugabuse.gov/mom/pdf/english/inhalants.pdf
http://www.psychiatric-disorders.com/articles/substance-abuse/inhalant-abuse.php
http://www.abovetheinfluence.com/facts/drugs-inhalants.aspx?id=search_properInhalants#

TALKING TO YOUNG KIDS ABOUT DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

The issue of drugs can be very confusing to young children. If drugs are so dangerous, then why is the family medicine cabinet full of them? And why do TV, movies, music and advertising often make drug and alcohol use look so cool?
We need to help our kids to distinguish fact from fiction. And it's not too soon to begin. National studies show that the average age when a child first tries alcohol is 11; for marijuana, it's 12. And many kids start becoming curious about these substances even sooner. So let's get started!

It is never too early. Talk early, talk often. If you talk to your kids at an early age about drugs and alcohol, you will not be ifluencing them to start taking drugs or drinking. On the contrary, they will be less apt to experiment if they know the facts. The issue of drugs can be very confusing to young children. If drugs are so dangerous, then why is the family medicine cabinet full of them? And why do TV, movies, music and advertising often make drug and alcohol use look so cool?
We need to help our kids to distinguish fact from fiction. And it's not too soon to begin. National studies show that the average age when a child first tries alcohol is 11; for marijuana, it's 12. And many kids start becoming curious about these substances even sooner. So let's get started!

http://www.talkingwithkids.org/alcohol.html

UNDERAGE DRINKING WHAT ARE YOUR VIEWS?

Are there gray areas in your beliefs about underage drinking? What effect does that have on your child's behavior? Is it OK to drink at a wedding but not at the Friday night high school tail gate party? Is it OK to drink at 18 when they are away at school but not at home when they get back for the summer? How do teenagers decipher your messages about alcohol when they decide to drink or not. Are your extended family and close friends on the same page as you? These are questions parents need to discuss and formulate answers to and share with teens as your family values. Mixed messages can sometimes worse than not talking to teens at all. See what Stacy DeWitt, CEO and founder of Connect With Kids has to say in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2GCQo0rbW8

http://www.connectwithkids.com/

FRESHMAN BLUES

If your child is off at their first year of college, you may want to read this. As excited as they were to start their new life, they now may experience new stresses and depression when all the newness wears off. They may be surprised at how much they miss home and how lonely they feel, longing for the comforts of old friends. Let them know that those feelings are natural and that you can help them through it. Stress is the number one reason young people give for drinking and taking drugs. This is a good reason to start the discussion.

http://www.connectwithkids.com/tipsheet/2009/453_sep2/thisweek/090902_freshman.shtml

SEX and TECH

The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy has an excellent resource on Sex and Tech. It also has some great video clips from students. Here is the website: http://www.thenationalcampaign.org/sextech/

Also, there are some PSA’s on sexting at http://www.iloveuguys.org/ From the iloveyouguys.org site, there is a link to ANOTHER great resource for youth- http://safe2tell.org/. “It is designed to help YOU anonymously report any threatening behavior that endangers you, your friends, your family, or your community.”

Really cool resources for parents and teens.