I KID. I kid. NJ’s Center for Prevention & Counseling in conjunction with Utah’s Parentsempowered.org is sending out letters to parents in time for prom season to raise awareness about teen drinking. Not just away from home, but inside. (Click the handy necker we received!) Just place on all bottles in your home. Great idea, perfect to use as markers so kids know how much they need to replace. I KID. While the strategy is probably an unintentional nod to attacking underage drinking where it usually originates, (in this case, the home), I disagree on the secondary rational that angry parents act as a deterrent. Good cause, but first-hand experience says otherwise. (Or take any reality show where drugs or alcohol are a problem and you’ll see more than enough examples of failed tough love.)Why not start from here: Kids will ultimately do what they’re gonna do. The best you can do is educate them, give them alternatives to drinking and discuss why it’s not for everyone. Understand though that after all that, it’s still out of your hands as a parent. You hope the message gets through, but if it doesn’t, there’s not a whole lot you can do about it. Start from a place of being positive instead of focusing on the penalties.
1 comment:
I'm pretty sure I read this research report about how letting people (kids especially) try things that are not necessarily good for them actually is more effective in them not using/doing that thing enough so that it becomes a habit. I think cigarettes was the "thing" in the research.
Did a quick google search and couldn't find it (and too lazy to look any harder). So, I may be making all of this up. In which case, I just wasted 3 minutes of your time.
...but if it does exist than it totally proved your theory and you got a comment to your post. So there you go.
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