PROJECT HELPS PARENTS KEEP THEIR KIDS AWAY FROM DRUGS

Teaching The Teachers

After completing Kids and Drugs - a Parents Guide to Prevention pilot
project, Paulette Bailey said she learned how to be a better parent.

Along with 20 other parents, Ms. Bailey signed up for the five-week
course, which was put off by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and
Communities in Schools.

Throughout the program, this Kippens resident said she gained a better
understanding of the different kinds of pressure being placed on
today's children.

"I learned that today's world is a lot different than when we were
kids," said Ms. Bailey. "Now it's not just a pressure to just say no,
now it's a pressure to protect yourself."

She said she learned that highly addictive drugs are being slipped
into otherwise harmless drinks and candy, making it more difficult for
children today to steer clear of drugs.

Ms. Bailey said the program opened her eyes to how easy it is for
drugs to be slipped into a drink when she and her son were at an event
recently, and both she and her son left a can of pop unattended.

Upon realizing the relative ease that somebody could have put
something into the drink, she decided it was best to throw it away.

"I explained to him that I really didn't think anything had been
dropped into it, but I said, 'you know, you have to start somewhere
and be more aware of what we're doing.'"

In addition to learning about the dangers of drugs, Ms. Bailey said
the project also helped her to learn the benefits of maintaining an
open dialogue with her son.

"I think one of the biggest things I learned about kids is when they
talk to you, no matter what it's about ... you can't show any
reaction, no matter what they say or what they throw at you," she said.

"Because if you don't react and treat it like it's the most normal
thing to be sitting there having a conversation about this, then you
know, they'll just let it flow."

She said the program also helped her to improve communications with
her son.

"Learning about the drugs was just a small part of it - it was the
dialogue, the communications, it's the interactions with your kids and
letting them know you care enough to do something."

Corrine Tulk was one the project's facilitators. She noted 21 parents
had signed up for the program, with 17 attending all of the five classes.

"They were very open from the very first session," said Ms. Tulk.
"They were very willing to discuss personal stories which could help
out everybody else, which is what we encouraged - the sharing
experience."

She said even the facilitators, all of which were parents, learned
better parenting skills along with the participants.

"With the program, the purpose was to arm the parents with the
knowledge they needed to start communications, keep the communications
going, and also to be knowledgeable about what their children are
going through," she noted.

Ms. Tulk said feedback collected from the participants and
facilitators to the project's creators at the University of Alberta
for evaluation. From there, she said the project would hopefully be
introduced to parents throughout the country.