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Parents, take five
Take five minutes to talk to you kids about drugs. A five minute conversation
now and then can make a huge difference toward keeping your kids away from
drugs. Start talking with your kids today.
5-8 Years Old
 | Now is the time to begin explaining what alcohol, tobacco and drugs are.
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| Discuss how anything you put in your body that is not food can be
harmful. |
| Explain the idea of addiction, that drug use can become a bad habit
that's hard to stop. |
| Praise your children for taking good care of their bodies and avoiding
things that might harm them. |
9-11 Years Old
| Children this age can handle more sophisticated discussion; use their
curiosity about traumatic events (such as car accidents or divorces) to
discuss how drugs could cause these events. |
| Friends become extremely important at this time, and older children may
expose your child to alcohol, tobacco or drugs. Rehearse scenarios in which
friends offer drugs. |
| "Upsetting my parents" is one of the top reasons preteens give for why
they won't use marijuana; give them permission to use you as an excuse, such
as, "My mom will kill me if I drink a beer." |
12-14 Years Old
| Adolescence is often a confusing and stressful time as teens try to
figure out who they are and how to fit in. Nearly nine out of ten teens
agree that "it seems like marijuana is everywhere these days."
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| Take advantage of a teen's concerns about social image and appearance to
point out immediate, distasteful consequences of tobacco and marijuana use:
bad breath, stained teeth, smelly hair and clothes. Point out that drug use
is not only dangerous, but can lead to broken friendships, even prison. |
| Also point out long-term consequences, such as brain damage, cancer, and
the potential for accidents, coma or death. |
15-17 Years Old
| Older teens have already made decisions about whether or not to use
drugs. Now is the time to help them continue to resist peer pressure. |
| Use specific reasons to reinforce why drugs are bad: addiction, birth
defects, car accidents, prison. |
| These students are thinking about their futures; remind them that drug
use could ruin their chances of college acceptance or embarking on their
career choice. |
For help with what to say,
check the following websites
www.drugfreeamerica.org
www.drugeducation.org
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