Talking with Your Kids About Alcohol
By Jill Pate - FF/S
This Thursday, April 21, is the first annual PowerTalk 21, the national day for parents to start talking with their kids about alcohol.
Many parents struggle with how to have a converstion with their children about alcohol. They know it is neccessary, but don't always know how or where to start. Because alcohol can seem so common and familiar, it is easy for us to become complacent and lose sight of how problematic drinking is for young people. The truth is, alcohol kills more teens than all other illegal drugs combined.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, MADD, has created a handbook to help parents talk with their children about alcohol. MADD realizes that all families are different and may relate to some parts of the handbook more than others. They simply encourage you to take time to review the entire handbook and use the parts that are useful to you and your family.
The handbook, "Power of Parents, It's Your Influence," is available online as a free download at www.madd.org.
I hope you will take the time to read the handbook and talk with your children. The time it takes may be life-changing, as well as potentially life-saving.
