Communities That Care

Posted on December 17, 2008

Report IDs “Problem Parents”

"Although virtually all mothers and fathers are concerned about the challenges of raising their kids in today’s world, many fail to take essential actions to prevent their kids from smoking, drinking or using drugs," according to a report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA).

Using data from a national telephone survey of teens and parents, CASA defined "problem parents" as those who fail to 1) monitor their children’s school night activities; 2) safeguard prescription drugs in the home; 3) address the problem of drugs in schools; and 4) set a good example.

Failure to Monitor School Night Socializing

* Nearly one-half (46%) of teens say that they typically go out with friends on school nights, while only 14% of parents say that their teens do so.

* Once out, 53% of teens come home between 8:00 and 10:00 PM and 15% come home later.

* The later teens stay out, the more likely they are to use alcohol or other drugs—even among older teens. Nearly one-third of those who come home between 8 and 10PM, and 50% of those who come home after 10PM say there’s alcohol or drug use among the kids they are with.

Failure to Safeguard Prescription Drugs

*One-third of teens who know someone who abuses prescription drugs say that the person gets the drugs from parents, home, or medicine cabinets.

Failure to Address Drugs in Schools

* One-third of parents think that the presence of drugs in school does not make it more likely that their child will use drugs. Yet previous surveys have found that teens attending schools where drugs are used, kept, or sold are 5 times more likely to use marijuana, 15 times more likely to use prescription drugs, and 16 times more likely to use another illegal drug.

Failure to Set a Good Example

* One-fourth of all teens know a parent of a classmate or friend who uses marijuana—and 10% say that this parent smokes with people the teens’ age.

According to CASA, "by identifying the characteristics of these problem parents, we hope to identify actions that parents can take—and avoid—in order to raise healthy, drug-free children and become part of the solution"

SOURCE: December 1, 2008 CESAR FAX by the Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR) at the Univesity of Maryland, College Park. For more info visit: www.cesar.umd.edu. The CASA report can be found at http://www.casacolumbia.org/articlefiles/380-2008%20Teen%20Survey%20Report.pdf

Posted on December 11, 2008

Successful GGC Session Wraps Up

Five Town Communities That Care is pleased to announce that another group of local parents has successfully completed the Guiding Good Choices series of parent workshops.

The program was attended by 17 parents representing 12 families from Camden, Rockport, and Rockland.  "Greg Marley and I found this group of parents to be very dynamic, and their willingness to engage in discussion greatly enriched the curriculum," said Sheryl Whittier, who co-facilitated the workshops with Marley.

Parents were grateful for the skills learned through participation in Guiding Good Choices, and for the opportunity the workshop provided to discuss common family challenges with other parents.  In the words of one of the participants, "I believe our family will be stronger and closer because of the workshop and its message."

Guiding Good Choices is one of the tested and effective programs offered by Five Town Communities That Care in its efforts to promote healthy youth development and prevent problem adolescent behaviors.  It has been proven to not only reduce family conflict and prevent later substance abuse, but to decrease depressive symptoms for children whose parents have attended.

As is the case for all programs offered by Five Town Communities That Care, the workshop series was provided at no cost to participants.  This particular session was supported by generous donations from several sources, including the congregation of Chestnut Street Baptist Church.

To learn more about Guiding Good Choices or Five Town Communities That Care, please contact Dalene Dutton at 235-9800 or by emailing dalene@fivetownctc.org.