"THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME"--IT'S NOT ALWAYS SO INNOCENT!

When I was growing up, summertime meant lots of freedom--riding my
bike all over my suburban neighborhood and enjoying friends--with Mom
mostly home and keeping a semi-watchful eye over me. Getting into
trouble meant going to the forbidden swamp and traipsing around in the
"quicksand," which was supposed to be off limits or riding bikes in
prohibited areas. Wouldn't that be nice if that were all parents had
to worry about?

Times have changed. In 2005 the choices for "having fun" and "risk
taking" includes trying drugs and alcohol and at earlier and earlier
ages. In fact, summer is the riskiest time of year when it comes to
teens and marijuana. The National Survey on Drug Youth and Health
shows that first-time youth marijuana use increased significantly
during the summer months. Each day in June, July, and August,
approximately 6100 youth nationwide try marijuana for the first time;
that's 38 percent more per day than during the rest of the year. This
increased first time use in the summer is also true for alcohol and
cigarettes.

Why is this occurring? One obvious connection is related to teens and
preteens having more unsupervised and unstructured time. Research
shows that youth with unsupervised time are more likely to use drugs
and alcohol. Kids who are not regularly monitored by their parents are
four times more likely to use drugs and engage in other risky
behaviors. Teens who report they are "often bored" are 50 percent more
likely to smoke, get drunk, and use illegal drugs than teens who aren't.

What can parents and caring community members do?

Most importantly, make sure that youth are hearing the
message--tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs, including marijuana, are
bad for them and that you don't want them to use--clearly and
regularly from the important adults in their lives. Talk about the
impact of alcohol and marijuana on their still-developing brains. Let
them know that marijuana is addictive and that teens who use are much
more likely to experience depression and other mental health problems,
suicidal thoughts, decreased energy, and interest in activities. There
are great online resources at http://www.theantidrug.com to help with this
communication.

Listen and find out what your kids think about drugs and alcohol and
what they know is going on with other kids. Connect the dots to the
many troubles experienced by people who are abusing alcohol and other
drugs. Grab those teachable moments when you and your child are
watching the news or hear about the latest incident in your community.

Keep a close eye on your children and their plans. Know where they are
going, what they are doing, who they are with, and when they will be
home. Talk with the parents of your child's friends. Find out what
they are hearing and noticing about your children and how closely they
are providing supervision when children are in their home.

If your teen is still too young to work or working only part-time,
encourage involvement in summer activities. Team up with other parents
to help make things happen for them during the summer, and plan on
positive family activities and time together as well.

Parenting well has always taken lots of effort and hard work, and with
so many parents working full time to support their families, all this
advice can be discouraging. But it is important to remember that
parents are still the most powerful influence on their teens.
Two-thirds of youth ages 13-17 report in surveys that fear of
upsetting their parents or losing the respect of family and friends is
one of the main reasons they don't smoke marijuana or use other drugs.
Your words and actions can and do make a difference.

The Parents' Corner

Parents and community members are invited to submit questions about
parenting on an anonymous basis to The Islands' Weekly. How to support
the best in your child, make things go more smoothly, or deal with a
troublesome behavior are all examples of topics. Each month a
contributor to the monthly Prevention Column will select a question
that can be addressed in a short paragraph.