It’s time to go back to school! Most families have successfully maneuvered the Wal Mart crowd escaping with the prized school supplies. Parents are juggling work schedules around bus schedules while others are ramping up the neighborhood car pools so their kids can make band practice. It is a tough job getting our kids educated with already busy schedules.
And it’s getting tougher. Many kids in this country will be attending drug infested schools where the lessons in the school yard will be more exciting to some kids than what they are learning in the classroom.
In “Drugs 101” kids learn that Xanax is for sale for five dollars a pill in the many school yards. Lessons are available on how to surf the web to buy prescription medication or learn simple ways to make methamphetamine.
Why are these topics even of interest to the minds of those who are supposed to lead us into the future?
A new study released by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America reported that the number one reason teens use drugs is to deal with the pressures of school. The reasons have switched from “want to have a good time” to “I can’t deal with this.” The study also found that parents underestimate the impact of stress on their kids.
Teenage years are already difficult. It is asking a lot for our teens to make it safely through the pharmaceutical gauntlet as they travel their most difficult years. They need our help.
Admire your kids for who they are. Talk to them and find out what is going on at their school. If they are having academic difficulties help them. Above all, let them know you disapprove of drug use. Surveys show that kids with parents who discourage drug use are less likely to use drugs. Your opinions and example do matter.
If your teenager has already become addicted, get them into a treatment program. They can still finish school and have a great life.
Keep your kids safe and start the new school year out right.
Mary Rieser CCDC
Executive Director
