Sellwood Moreland Improvement League

"Talking To Kids About Drugs"

Posted at the request of the "Regional Drug Initiative"

THE PARENT FACTOR...TALKING TO KIDS ABOUT DRUGS

Talking to your children does make a difference. Kids today feel a lot of pressure from their peers to use drugs, but it's the "parent factor" that really influences children. In fact, a survey by the Parents' Resource Institute for Drug Education reports that only 16% of kids whose parents set clear rules about drugs actually used any drugs in the past year, versus 44% of kids whose parents did NOT set clear rules.

We all know that ongoing communication with children about drugs is critical. Unfortunately, many parents just don't know the best way to communicate with their kids about tough subjects like drugs, especially about the less familiar drugs such as ecstasy or methamphetamine. The messages and warnings parents use with their children will be less effective as kids' attitudes about drugs becomes more and more sophisticated.

The Regional Drug Initiative (RDI) has free resources to help parents learn techniques for improving communication with kids. RDI offers a parent training program consisting of a series of one-hour sessions that can be customized for specific age groups, and covers topics such as expectations and consequences, listening and communication, praise and self-esteem, and parenting roles. The training is based on a nationally-recognized curriculum, and is facilitated by staff from the Oregon National Guard. RDI also distributes other parental resources, including a free 50-page good called "Growing Up Drug-Free", which includes extensive information on commonly-used drugs. In addition, RDI provides brochures and fact sheets about the effects of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.

In you are interested in setting up parent training in your neighborhood, school, or workplace, call the Regional Drug Initiative at 503/294-7074, or toll-free at 888/564-6734. Or click on the hotlink below!

Here's that hotlink...

Click here for the REGIONAL DRUG INITIATIVE website!