Parent Education

Research points to parental involvement as being the single most important factor in an adolescent’s relationship to alcohol and other drugs. Drug-free kids cite parental influence as the #1 reason for their choice not to drink and use other drugs.  School-based prevention efforts are strongly reinforced by parental involvement on many levels:

• Committee and advisory board participation
• Establishing communication networks and organizing alcohol and other drug-free activities
• Support and attend parent education and training initiatives at school
• Utilize the Community of Concern's “A Parent’s Guide to the Prevention of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Use” 

The focus of the parent seminars and presentations is to provide opportunities for dialogue, interaction, and sharing experiences. The seminars and presentations provide basic information on adolescent development as it relates to the initiation of substance use and dependency.  Parents learn accurate and up-to-date information about underage drinking and other drug trends, and strategies to support children in choosing a drug-free lifestyle. 

Teens are at reduced risk for alcohol problems when they have:

• A parent (s) or significant adult who is actively involved in their life
• Adults who regularly support positive lifestyle choices and activities
• Strong and positive family bonds
• Parent (s) that set clear and consistent expectations and consequences regarding underage drinking and other drug use
• Parent (s) that monitor the activities of their children and peers
• Parents that have conventional norms about drug use

Our approach working with parents  

• A positive, strength-based approach to prevention and parenting
• Simple language and practical examples to empower parents to recognize the essential role they play in keeping their kids drug-free
• Sensitivity towards different styles of parenting
• Research-based
• A sense of fun
  

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Parenting for Prevention

In this presentation, parents will be given an overview of the student prevention and intervention seminar, basic information about adolescent underage drinking and other drug use, and suggestions on parenting and family dynamics that support a child’s decision to remain drug-free during the teen years.

The presentation will address the following issues:

Improving Parent Understanding of Youth Substance Abuse:  Assist parents in understanding why children may choose to use drugs.  Parents are engaged in a discussion centered on five common reasons: to feel grown up, to fit in and belong, to relax and feel good, to take risks and rebel, and to satisfy curiosity. 

Understanding Risk and Protective Factors: Helps parents recognize the complex interaction among risk factors including personal characteristics, family environment, community environment (access, availability, enforcement), community, family, and peer norms, relationship to school, peer relations, and the nature of relationships with adults.  Identifies key protective factors that can either prevent or stop use: structure and nurturing provided by parents and learning promoted by parents.

Accurate Information about Substance Abuse: Provides accurate information about substance use.  Show parents how to clear up their children’s misconceptions such as that alcohol is a self-inflicted illness, recovery from alcohol abuse is only a matter of willpower, and alcoholism strikes certain ethnic groups or races disproportionately, or one gender more than another. 

Parenting Strategies:  Presents parents with strategies for helping their children choose a substance free lifestyle.  Strategies include being a good role model, avoiding relying on alcohol or other drugs, establishing a strong relationship with children, giving clear messages about abstaining from substance use, teaching children to express thoughts and feelings honestly, teaching important problem-solving skills, and becoming a child’s most reliable resource on alcohol and other drug information.    

• Parents will learn how to strengthen the family bonds that reduce risks for substance use.
• Establish a family position on drugs and drinking
• Identifying and establishing positive reinforcements and appropriate negative consequences
• How to create a parent support network

The following questions will be addressed during the presentation:

• What do I tell my kids about my own history alcohol and/or other drug use?
• What can I do as a parent to support my child’s decisions to remain drug- free?
• How do I help my child resist peer pressure?
• How can I tell if my child is drinking or using other drugs?
• How can I host a party that is safe and drug-free?

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For Dads Only

We have learned after years of experience speaking with parent groups that moms dominate attendance at parent meetings.  A recent study by Partnership for a Drug-Free America indicates that mothers appear to take more seriously than dads the responsibility of talking to their children about drugs.  Yet, research suggests strongly that fathers play a special role in the lives of their children.  Studies show that a healthy father-child relationship fosters a sense of competence and identity in children.  These are strong protective factors against underage drinking and other drug use.  Dads have a profound and long-lasting influence on their children’s self-esteem.    

In an attempt to increase attendance by fathers at parent meetings, this presentation addresses the unique protective value of dads’ attitudes, beliefs, and actions around alcohol and other drug use in the family system. 

• 57% of fathers said they frequently talked with their children about how drugs can interfere with their education, compared to 77% of mothers.
• 63% of fathers said they frequently talked with their children about how drugs can harm their lives, compared with 81% of mothers.
• Girls without a father actively involved in their lives are 40% more likely to abuse drugs than those whose fathers are consistently present. 

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Parent-Student Interactive Programs

Getting parents and their children to sit down and talk about substance abuse is often a difficult task.   In this program, parents and students are invited back to school to share in interactive group activities facilitated by our instructors.  By far, this format is considered the most fun by students and parents alike.  Call our office to discuss how to schedule, promote, and format an evening for parents and their children. 

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College-Bound for Parents:  Parenting Through Transition  

According to the Core Institute, an organization that surveys college-drinking practices, 159,000 of today’s first-year college students will drop out of school next year for alcohol or other drug related reasons. The research goes on to say that almost one-third of college students admit to having missed at least one class because of their alcohol or other drug use. Some studies are compellingly close to concluding that the most important reason for transferring, dropping out, quitting, flunking out, or struggling academically, can be associated with two tasks done poorly: 1) selecting the college, and 2) adjusting to college life.

This presentation focuses on student adjustment issues and is designed for educators and parents to rethink how we prepare our children for the college experience. We will look beyond academic preparation and into the heart of students as they struggle with issues such as: separation and reconfiguration with family, grieving the loss of close relationships with friends, school and community, and the trading-in of proven competencies (social, physical, academic) for the unknown of college.

Many students face these issues in a time of unlimited freedom and reduced accountability. How do we prepare and support them in this critical transition to the next phase of their life?

Participants will learn:

• The top 5 questions every parent must ask about alcohol and other drugs during a college visit!
• How and what to say to your college bound teen about sex, drinking and drugs, money, academics, personal safety, and more. 
• Important statistics on the alcohol and other drug challenges on today's college campuses.
• Tips for communicating with teens before college begins and through the first year about some of the social challenges they may face in college.
• Strategies for how parents can stay connected to their teen throughout college.
• A special section for families with a family history of substance abuse.

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Confronting Bullying and Teasing:  The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program

Most parents can recall with vivid detail episodes of bullying and teasing when they were in school. Bullying is more prevalent than many educators and parents think, and experts agree that it should no longer be tolerated as “part of growing up” (Education Week, 1997). 10-15% of children say they are regularly bullied. Most school-aged children are exposed to teasing and bullying at some time – most often as bystanders who witness bullying behavior.

In this presentation

• What is bullying?
• Myths and misconceptions about bullying
• How to tell the difference between bullying and normal peer conflicts
• What to say and do if your child comes home and says they were bullied
• What to say or do if your child is the bully
• What to say or do if your child comes home and tells you that they witness bullying at school

Parents play a key role in helping their children develop the skills to deal with violence. Beginning early is crucial.  Just as the building blocks for later learning exist in the early elementary classroom, so do the seeds for later behavior, attitudes, and adult interactions.

*Jeffrey S. Wolfsberg and Associates, Inc. are certified trainers of the Olweus Bullying Prevention

Drug Pharmacology for Parents (Middle School & Upper School)

One of the greatest defects in the defense against adolescent drug use is misinformation. This workshop provides useful, up-to-date information for educators, administrators and other concerned adults. It provides a comprehensive overview of the nature and extent of today’s drug use, summarizes the effects and consequences of the most common drugs, and debunks myths. Participants will be able to identify and describe substance-using behavior as well as delineate fact from fiction. This workshop is a valuable antidote to the frighteningly misleading pro-drug images all too available from the media and adolescent community.

Day schools usually schedule a parent meeting during the third evening our four-day seminar.  This usually gives time to student to interact with our instructors and encourage their parents to attend the parent meeting.  For some day-school communities a parent coffee works best.  We can work with your parent group to customize a presentation that meet your specific needs.

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