Although we all think of summer as a more carefree and relaxed time, the summer can present challenges if you have teenagers. Summer is a time when parents need to be particularly alert to what their children are doing, where they are going and who they are spending time with during
their vacation.
This is not always easy to do as teens usually have more freedom during the summer and have more opportunities to gather in unsupervised settings where no responsible adults are present.
Times of transition can be difficult for students and the eighth to ninth grade and twelfth grade to college are identified as times when teens are more likely to begin or increase their use of alcohol and other drugs. Research also shows that the summer is the time that many teens try marijuana
for the first time.
Robert DuPont, MD, the former Director of the National Institute for Drug Abuse and the former “drug czar,” spoke at the Community AntiDrug Coalition of America conference in February and spoke last month at the Westchester Coalition for Drug and Alcohol Free Youth and meeting about the need to keep teens from using the three gateway drugs; alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine.
At a time when there is grave concern about the opioid crises, Dr. DuPont made the point that most opioid users begin their drug use with one of the three gateway drugs. Dr. Du Pont went onto say, “Drug prevention is not drug by drug, rather it is about any and all drug use by youth. Prevention needs to support the primary goal of no use of any alcohol, tobacco, marijuana or other drugs to maintain the health of our young people.”
During the summer, it is important for parents to understand that keeping teens away from the three gateway drugs will be a positive step to ensuring that their lives will not be impacted by the serious consequences of drug use and addiction.
The Five A’s Of Parenting
Mike Nerney, a prevention specialist, makes the following recommendations to parents about strategies they can implement to keep their children safe during the summer:
- Aware: Every family should have a strategy in place so that they know where their teen is and who they are with during the day and at night. Be sure to check-in with other parents and make sure that all the teens are in a supervised setting with a responsible adult. Empty houses with no adult supervision have proven to be very dangerous places for teens in Westchester County. It is usually in this unchaperoned setting that many teens first try alcohol and drugs or have their first sexual encounter. Text messaging, talking on the cell phone and even asking your teen to take a picture of where they are and then have them send it to you, have made the job of knowing where your child is much easier.
- Alert: Be alert to any behavioral changes in your child during the summer. Teens are much more likely to try alcohol, cigarettes, and other drugs for the first time during the summer months.
- Awake: When your children get home, give them a hug or a kiss and talk to them for a few minutes to
make sure they are not under the influence of any substance. It may be a deterrent for your children to use alcohol or other drugs if they know that they will have to pass the “hug/kiss/talk” test later on in the evening. If anything in their behavior concerns you, make sure they are safely in bed and wait until the morning to address the issue. Important note: If your teen seems impaired, DO NOT LEAVE THEM ALONE “to sleep it off.” Keep them awake and talking. Call 911 immediately if your teen cannot keep their head up or stay awake. - Assertive: Make sure you and your child have discussed appropriate consequences for inappropriate and unhealthy behavior. The consequences should be firm, respectful and related to the behavior. Furthermore, although this can be difficult, the consequences must be enforced.
- Affirming: Let your children know that you love them and want them to have a wonderful summer. Help them understand that they are the most precious people in your life and if they feel that you are being too protective, it is because it is your job to keep them safe.
Source: Patricia Murphy Warble, LMSW, CPP, Parenting for Prevention June 2017
