TALKING, LISTENING

Something Too Many Parents Don't Do Enough Of

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released results
of its annual assessment of substance abuse in America. As we reported in an
editorial not long ago, the news was both good and bad. The good part is
that drug use among younger teens fell 15 percent from 1997 to 1998. The bad
part is there was a corresponding increase in drug use among older teens and
young adults.

Now a study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University has broken down the figures even more, revealing that
more than 14 million kids 12 to 17 are at moderate or high risk of using
illegal drugs.

That is a staggering figure and one with ominous implications -- when you
consider that the federal government estimates there are currently about 14
million American adults using illicit drugs on a more or less regular basis.
The potential for that number to be virtually doubled is appalling and
frightening -- if those teens having been identified as at-risk fall into
patterns of substance abuse.

The Center's research also made another important discovery. Results of
interviews with more than 2,000 teens nationwide show that one sure way to
curb drug abuse is for dads to sit down to dinner with their children and
talk, or help them with their homework and talk, or take them to a religious
service or some other outing and talk.

Talk is the key.

The Center's survey indicates most children don't feel comfortable turning
to their fathers for advice about drugs. Nearly 60 percent of the teens
surveyed said their moms were easier to talk to about such matters. In
contrast, only about a quarter of teens surveyed felt as comfortable talking
to their dads.

In fact, parents generally think they do a pretty good job of talking to
their children about important life decisions -- a perception not shared by
their children. A survey of parents and children last year indicated about
three-quarters of parents said they discussed drugs with their children, but
fewer than 25 percent of the youngsters recalled such a conversation.

The Uhlich Report Card, an annual survey performed by a nonprofit
organization in the Midwest, goes a step further in explaining the mixed
signals coming from parents and their children. In this study, teens were
asked to give their parents a letter grade on different issues, much as the
youngsters might receive in a classroom subject. Results of the most recent
study are fascinating, to say the least.

When asked how good a job parents do in convincing teens not to use drugs,
more than 45 percent of the youngsters gave their parents either a "D" or an
"F."

There weren't many "A" grades given out. About the same low-grade results
were given by teens when asked how their parents do in convincing them not
to drink alcoholic beverages. Parents did only slightly better in their
efforts to talk kids out of smoking cigarettes.

The folks who produce the Uhlich Report Card make the following suggestions
on how adults can improve this critically important communications link with
teens:

*Listen to and try to understand young people.

*Be honest with your child.

*Make sure the entire family spends quality time together.

*Lead by example.

*Always be a teacher in your family, especially in regard to setting
attitudes about substance abuse and important social issues such as
intolerance, prejudice and racism.

*Always make sure your child understands the consequences of abusive,
destructive behaviors.

Those are steps that can be taken by individuals and families. As a
community, we should support law enforcement efforts to crack down on
underage drinking and drug use. Retail business owners can make sure their
workers understand and obey laws regarding the sale of alcoholic beverages
and cigarettes to underage customers. Support for anti-abuse programs such
as Fighting Back and the Santa Barbara County Council of Alcoholism and Drug
Abuse must be communitywide and consistent.

In the end, the key to winning any war on drugs rests not with the federal,
state or local governments but with us, and our ability to make young people
understand the true personal and societal costs of substance abuse. Talk is
never cheap when it comes to communicating -- early and often -- with your
children.