President's Message - October 2022

Red Ribbon is about creating herd or community immunity to the alcohol and drug problems America is facing.

Topics: President's Message, teenagers, alcohol, Informed Families, teens, drugs

We know there’s a mental health crisis in our young people. It predates the pandemic, but the COVID-based disruptions to their lives made things worse. This has led many schools to initiate various programs to help kids cope with the stress.

Topics: Family Day, parenting, teenagers, teens

Once each year, we take time to celebrate the people that make our lives meaningful: our families. Family life isn’t always what you’d find in a Hallmark movie, but at the bottom, the love and support we find there offer a sense of belonging and stability in our lives. Sociologists point out that families are critical for healthy development.

Topics: Family Day, parenting, teenagers, family bonding, teens, family dinner, Family Table Time

Unfortunately, the news on the popularity of marijuana keeps getting worse, not better.

Topics: parenting, marijuana, teenagers, teens, drugs, vaping

A 2016 survey found that about 10 million Americans vaped regularly. Nearly half of those were under the age of 35, with 18-24-year-olds the most frequent users. In 2018, over three million high school students and 570,000 middle school students reported they were using e-cigarettes, according to the CDC. And the trend is rising: In 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that one in nine high school students said they had vaped in the past month.

Topics: parenting, marijuana, teenagers, teens, drugs, vaping

President's Message - August 2022

Over the years, it has been interesting to me that parents consistently think Informed Families is not talking to them but to some other family with problems. Denial is a trademark of addiction!

Topics: Family Day, President's Message, teenagers, Informed Families, teens, Family Table Time

As kids transition back to school, they’ll need to brush up on their organizational skills. This is one of the topics in this month’s Family Table Time activity kit, which provides materials, tips, and conversation starters designed to foster family togetherness and participation.

Topics: parenting, teenagers, children, teens, back to school, organization

As summer winds down and young people want to get in all the fun they can before school starts, they’ll be trying to cram in as much party time as possible in the next few weeks.

Topics: parenting, teenagers, children, car trips, teens

It’s hard enough to teach our kids to avoid drugs when even popular celebrities and members of Congress, not to mention the cannabis industry, are trying to normalize its use.

Topics: parenting, addiction, teenagers, safe homes smart parties, children, teens, drug trend

President's Message - August 2022

We deal with this daily – we use different words to describe the same things.

Topics: President's Message, teenagers, teens, hope