School supplies? Check.
New clothes and shoes? Check.
Doctor visits? Check.
Conversations about drug and alcohol use?
Wait. What?
In North Texas, one in three school-age youth are using alcohol, which kills six and a half times more of our kids than all other drugs combined.
When was the last time you really talked to your kids?
Research shows that 90 percent of addiction begins in the teen years and teens who begin using early in life have a much greater risk of becoming addicted. If we can prevent teens from using until their brains fully develop—at about age 25—we decrease their risk of ever picking up that first drink or drug.
Parents, do you know that you have the most influence when it comes to keeping your kids drug-free (a fact they’ll probably deny!)?
Parents who talk regularly to their teens can cut their risk by up to 50 percent. Yet sadly, there are thousands of parents who aren't having these life-saving conversations. They believe their child or neighborhood is immune, that experimenting with drugs is a rite of passage, or they simply don't know where to start. We can change that with your help!
Since 2004, Drug Prevention Resources has provided evidence-based prevention programming to more than 48,000 youth and families. We are proud to have an average success rate of 84 percent, meaning that 84 out of 100 kids who go through our programs report a change in attitudes and behavior around alcohol and other drug use.
In one community alone, our results, as measured by the Texas School Survey, showed a 33 percent decrease in past 30-day use by youth.
We understand prevention, whether it’s provided in schools or through one of our seven community coalitions.
Our job is to help you understand prevention too, and to get those conversations started between you and your teens.
As you’re loading up backpacks and lunches, just talk. Ask some open-ended, non-confrontational questions. Then listen.
If you need a little help, check out our list of resources on our website. One of them is SAMHSA’s Alcohol Effects Mobile App for teachers and parents to use with fifth and sixth graders. Watch the video for the app here: http://drugprevresources.org/resources.
Watch our site and our Facebook page for additional ideas and tips over the coming months.
Oh, and by the way, congratulations on getting your kids through the summer!!
