Parent appreciates Raising Healthy Teens tips
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| Mia Cosillo |
Event Summary
Get the Conversation started focused on the reality of the multiple messages that children receive daily that form and influence their decision-making. So where do parents come in?We have to understand the reality of their world...sometimes the isolation that teens may feel - as different and not a part of their school experience - the reality is they feel a "heightened sense of being unworthy" Figuring out where I fit can lead to trying alcohol or other substances...how do parents talk to their children before experimentation begins?
It starts early...5th grade...8th grade and by 12th grade majority of kids try drinking or smoking.
What's the Perception that parents have of their child's use....
Monitoring the Future Study 2010
Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health 2011:
Parent: 5% believe their teen used marijuana
Children: 28% self-report using
Parent:10% believe their teen drank alcohol
Children: 52% self report drinking
Parent: 3% admit giving their child medication NOT prescribed for them
Children: 22% say they were given medicine not meant for them by their parents
How do we get the message out to parents that we begin healthy conversations with our kids when
they are young...we have to be more self-aware of our own habits...drinking and how we choose to
handle stress...
Set boundaries...and be prepared to follow them
Ongoing conversation...
Supportive relationships...
Know the risk level of your children...
Know their friends... social hosting
One more...don't think you child won't experiment. They are kids...wired to test
limits and needing your guidance and early conversation and trust.
Bottom line is this truth: Teens agree that YES their parents would feel youth's using drugs or alcohol is "wrong" or "very wrong"
Contact: Robert Crown Center for Health Education Kris Adzia, Director of Education kadzia@robertcrown.org