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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:
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:
Our approach working with parents
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.
The following questions will be addressed during the presentation:
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.
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.
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. Participants will learn:
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.
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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| Parent Education
Parent-Student Interactive Programs College-Bound for Parents: Parenting Through Transition Confronting Bullying and Teasing: The Olweus Bullying Prevention Program |
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© 2007 Jeffrey S. Wolfsberg | Web Design: Circle Graphics
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