Welcome to the 2019/2020 school year! While the end of summer can be a little melancholy, the start of a new school year is an exciting time of anticipation and promise. It’s also a great time to talk to your children about your family values and parental expectations on a range of important topics including sleeping and eating, social media and social activities, bullying, mental health, sex and alcohol and other drug use. Whether your student is 5 or 25, open communication can help you and your child navigate the complex maze of social and safety issues they are likely to encounter this school year.
No matter what the topic, make clear to your child that you are coming from a place of love and concern. Look for teachable moments – natural opportunities to bring up a difficult topic, but be sure to arm yourself with accurate information before you begin. (Our Topics for Parents website section is a good resource to learn some basic facts about alcohol and other drugs!). Make sure your child understands your rules and what your consequences will be if they are not followed, but also be sure to work in some positive reinforcement to help them understand the benefits of making healthy and safe choices.
With the increased media attention on health consequences of vaping, now is also a great time to talk to your child about why not to use electronic cigarettes such as Juuls and that you are there to support them if they have been vaping and need help stopping. The Center for Disease Control issued a health advisory at the end of August warning clinicians and the public about the outbreak of severe lung disease associated with the use of electronic cigarettes. The advisory warns that youth and young adults should not use any e-cigarette products and that no one should buy modified vaping products off the street. https://emergency.cdc.gov/han/han00421.asp
For help in talking with your child of any age about a variety of important topics, last year’s Washington Post article is a great starting point. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/heres-what-parents-should-tell-kids-before-the-school-year-begins/2018/08/10/225b37e2-967e-11e8-810c-5fa705927d54_story.html?fbclid=IwAR2k0z4e_MPSdPUZLtbKfagebZep0WseH1uN4jrvx4G-Ne9k39juIaz1lBg&noredirect=on
For specific advice in talking about alcohol and other drugs at various ages, the Partnership for Drug-Free kids has some useful scenarios and scripts that you can use as a starting point.
https://drugfree.org/article/prevention-tips-for-every-age/
For more information about the health risks of vaping, check out these sources:
https://www.yalemedicine.org/stories/teen-vaping/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/30/health/vaping-e-cigarettes-marijuana-cdc.html