- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- dads today articles
- dads today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Straight Talk
Giving Your Kids the Facts About Drugs By Tara Swords
Mom Kristy Ciprana is drawing on real-life situations to teach her children how drug use can affect lives.
"I discussed everything from smoking to hard-core drugs, taking something 'cool' from a friend, assessing the value of a friend who feels that drugs are cool or OK," she says. "My sons both have a lot of interests and we 
discussed how successes in those interests can be harmed by drug use. My sons are very anti-drug, and we have made it the cool thing to be among our family and in their group of friends. I use the fact that my older son is pretty popular, and he can be one of the ones who makes the right values be 'cool.'"
Ciprana says her younger son has also seen the results of smoking in his grandfather, and that alone is discouragement enough.
Research shows that an approach like the one Ciprana uses frank and frequent talks is the best way to drive home the point that drugs can derail a child's future plans. A national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Children Now found that three out of four parents of kids ages 10 to 12 say they've talked about drugs and alcohol with their children. But the campaign urges parents not to think a discussion about drugs can be a one-time event.
"The 'big talk' isn't what it used to be. It now needs to be 'supersized,'" says Matt James, senior vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation. "When parents today talk with their kids about tough issues that means covering the basics, plus a whole lot more."
|
