Prevention for Parents
Keep Your Teen Drug-Free :: January '20 Issue
Points of interest
· Help your teen achieve their goals around reducing substance use
· How to keep teens safe if they choose to use
· What works in prevention science
· What DOESN’T work in prevention (and actually causes harm)
Setting Goals Around Substance Use
It’s the time of year when we are setting our intentions and making goals for ourselves.
If your teen does use, and wants to make a change, it’s important to set realistic and manageable goals so they don’t become discouraged.
Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and have a time limit or date to complete.
Quitting or reducing substance use is a tricky business, so encourage your teen to share their goals with you so you can help keep them accountable.
- They need support to make a lasting change.
- Giving encouragement when they slip up or need to restart is a valuable effort.
- When they're not in it alone, they have a better chance of achieving their goal.
Shuksan Middle School Prevention Club
Shuksan’s very own Prevention Club meets every Tuesday from 3:45pm to 5:00pm
This club is for any student who wants to help create and maintain a healthy and positive school environment for everyone. The students decide what topics to focus on, and how to address the challenges our school faces with support and guidance from Mr. Giles.
We can make an impact on teen substance use, bullying, failing grades, school climate, and more. Club activities will include:
- creating posters and bulletin boards,
- small projects around our school
- participation in our Community Family Night
Keeping Teens Safe if they DO Use
Teens make better decisions around substance use when they know their parent has their back if they get into an unsafe situation.
Let your teen know your expectations, but make sure they also know you will help them if they do slip up.
When teens don’t know how their parents will react, they make poor decisions like getting into a car with a driver that has been using.
Let them know you won’t be happy, but that you would rather them be safe.
- One strategy is to have a pre-planned code word, so that if they are in a social situation but want to get out they can get your help and save face with peers.
- Take a moment to have a conversation with your teen and let them know your expectations and consequences they can expect, but also that you have their back.
When they’re not worried about unknown consequences and know what to expect, they make safer decisions.
What Works in Prevention
It’s important to know which strategies are effective in preventing substance use, as our time and resources are often scarce. Here are a few tried and true principles to implement in your family:
· Build communication skills
· Teach refusal skills
· Reinforce anti-drug attitudes
· Increase study skills and academic support
· Increase social and emotional skills
· Promote healthy alternatives to drug use
· Enhance bonding with positive adults
What DOESN’T Work in Prevention
Perhaps even more importantly, knowing what doesn’t work is necessary so that we don’t do more harm than good. Sometimes, what we think is effective actually makes the problem worse. Here are some of the don’ts in prevention:
· Scare tactics (scary images, mock car crashes, etc.)
· One-time events
· Personal testimony from people in recovery
· Sensationalizing information about use rates (reporting how many people DO use)
· Appealing to young people’s morals
· Giving detailed information about substances (how to use it, potential benefits of use, street names, etc.)
· Role play where youth are asked to play the part of drug users or dealers
From the Author
Hi! I’m Kelly Giles and I work at Shuksan Middle School as a Student Assistance Professional (SAP), doing drug and alcohol prevention and interventions.
A big part of my job is building relationships with students because we know adults play a huge role in influencing healthy choices.
I love to partner with parents, too! Please stop by my office just to say hi or get in touch if you are worried about a student. Send me any ideas you'd like to see in upcoming issues via email.
Thank you for all you do for our young people, it matters!
Kelly Giles
Student Assistance Professional (SAP)
Shuksan Middle School
Northwest ESD 189
Email: kgiles@nwesd.org
Website: https://shuksan.bellinghamschools.org/
Phone: 360-676- 6470