DRUGS IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO LEARN OF THE DANGERS

Five year olds across Ireland are about to embark on a school programme to
protect them from the dangers of drugs.

It was once said that there is no greater challenge to parents or schools
than to make children understand why they shouldn't take drugs. As the age
at which young people begin to abuse illegal substances continues to fall,
the importance of taking up that challenge has never been greater. But a new
Department of Education programme sets out to do just that starting with the
youngest children in its care. By the end of the year, all primary school
children from the age of five years on will be taught not only to ``say no''
to drugs but will also be provided with the skills to help them do so.

The IEP1m programme entitled Walk Tall, which was launched last week, is, in
essence, an assertiveness training course. It is based on the premise that
by giving children the self-esteem and knowledge to make sensible decisions
in their earliest school years, they will be better able to resist
opportunities or offers to misuse drugs later on in life.

While the main areas dealt with on the programme are alcohol and nicotine,
illegal drugs will also be discussed depending on the levels of knowledge
about them in a given class.

Acknowledging that some drugs can be enjoyable to use and make a person feel
more confident for a very short time, teachers will explain that in the long
term, they are dangerous to the health and can end up destroying lives.

Pupils will learn how to deal with peer pressure and the social anxiety that
can result for some of them when they choose not to respond to it. They will
be taught, for instance, how to control impulses and not to change their
mind simply because someone else has a different opinion. At the core of the
programme, however, is the idea of encouraging them to talk about their
feelings, in particular their negative experiences, to adults they can
trust.

It is widely recognised that for drug abuse prevention strategies to be
effective children must be exposed to them at a young age, prior to
experimentation, when attitudes and values are still developing. Most
alcoholics and drug abusers trace the beginnings of their addiction to their
teenage years and it is rare for young people to try illegal drugs for the
first time after the age of 20.

By laying the foundations of caution and responsibility in early childhood,
when what is learnt at school still has a great influence, there is a much
greater chance that those values will stay with them through adult life.

Arguing that the programme is more urgently needed than ever, Ruby Morrow,
senior psychologist in the Department of Education and one of those involved
in the compilation of the programme, warns that many Irish children in the
early stages of primary level already appear to know a great deal about
drugs and drug taking, a factor which instigated the development of Walk
Tall.

"Young children do have quite a lot of information about drugs and we know
that the age of first use is dropping all the time. Some of them have more
information than others. Some of it is accurate. Some of it is not. But from
about seven years old on, many of them will have heard words like heroin and
ecstasy usually from television and that is why it is important to start
before that time and before their attitudes about drugs build up."

At various stages in the programme, parents will be sent letters home
bringing them up to date and inviting their participation. They will be
given opportunities to learn about what is being taught and classes will
also be offered for those who feel they want to deal more effectively with
the emotional life of their children.

The piloting process for Walk Tall has been carried out over the last two
years in 26 primary schools in Dublin, Cork, Donegal as well as in specific
locations where drug abuse is a problem. While there can no concrete
evidence of its success as yet, pupils, teachers and parents have responded
to the programme with enthusiasm.

At Greenmount N.S. in Cork city, one of the schools where it was piloted,
the programme has been warmly received, according to principal, Donal
Whooley. ``Everyone is very positive about it, especially the pupils. The
emphasis is on preparing children for life and teaching them to think and
stand up for themselves but not in a `thou shalt not' way.

"No matter where they live in the country, young people will be faced with
difficult decisions about smoking, drinking and substance abuse. They are
aware of drugs from a young age but it can be an ignorant awareness.
Children enjoy the chance to express their feelings and the programme gives
them a great opportunity to do so although it will take a few years before
we can see the real fruits of it."

Training children to be emotionally competent so that they can better tackle
life's challenges is no guarantee that they will not end up in situations
where smoking or alcohol and drug abuse is taking place but it does mean
that they will be more able to resist temptation when those situations
arise.