Although school holidays are a great time to relax and rejuvenate they can also be stressful for parents searching for ways to keep children “amused”. So here are my top five tips to survive the school holidays.

Tip No 1: Sit down with your kids and plan activities that they can look forward to. Make a list of free activities, activities they can do at home, and activities with a budget. Check your local papers or log the internet to see what’s happening in your area. Put the full list on the fridge and refer kids to the “activities at home” section when you’re hit with the “I’m bored” syndrome!

Tip No 2: Organize a holiday budget and discuss this with the children. It’s important for children to understand that you don’t have a bottomless pit of money and that, in fact, you don’t need lots of money to have fun. You may like to plan some activities with a dollar tag attached but there are plenty of free activities in parks, museums, and libraries.

Tip No 3: Don’t fall into the trap of “full time entertainer”. Children need to learn to amuse themselves and to find interesting and fun things to do in a safe environment. Depending on your child’s age you may need to help them start an activity but don’t take it over. And remember, it’s important to show an interest when your child is busy and absorbed and not just when they’re bored and seeking an audience.

Tip No 4: Set ground rules for computer and TV use such as turn taking and time limits. Although it’s ok for children to watch a little more TV or use the computer more often during the holidays, it’s important that children have a balance of indoor and outdoor activities. Set a time limit and monitor programs and computer games. If turn taking is a problem, set a timer and allocate a time limit for each child.

Tip No 5: It’s easier to look after children’s needs if we also look after our own needs as parents. Set aside some child free time. Organize a play at a friend’s house or enlist the help of relatives to give you a break. If our own needs as adults are neglected, it’s much more difficult to be calm, patient, and consistent with our children.

The 2014 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey reveals that 85% of middle school students and nearly 63% of high school students are not current users of alcohol, tobacco, or illicit substances including marijuana, inhalants, club drugs, as well as the non-medical use of over-the-counter or prescription pharmaceuticals. Thus, 3 out of 4 Florida students in grades 6-12 don’t drink alcohol nor use drugs.

The best news is that the 2014 results continue a 10-year trend of alcohol and drug-free youth rising 12.5 percentage points for middle schoolers and 10.7 percentage points among high school students since 2004. Alcohol use declined 4.1 percentage points and cigarette smoking decreased 1.7 points between 2012 and 2014. Use of marijuana and all other drugs stabilized with no statistically significant increases across the same two years.

The Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey was administered in February 2014 with a sample size of 65,917 sixth through twelfth grade students from all 67 Florida counties. The margin of error is less than 1 percentage point for middle and high school prevalence rates.

We would like to thank everyone who participated in Red Ribbon Week! It was a truly successful celebration of the Red Ribbon message. We would like to give special thanks to our Ambassadors, who dedicate so much of their time to help us keep kids safe, healthy, and drug free!

Below we have highlighted some of the photos we have received from our Ambassadors throughout the state of Florida. We encourage all of you (if you have not already done so) to submit your pictures and feedback through the Red Ribbon Campaign Review Form.

Marijuana legalization is a hot topic with huge implications – and now Floridians are faced with voting on Amendment 2, although many of us don’t understand all the legalese. Watch the webinar below, "Don't Let Florida Go To Pot," to learn more about Amendment 2, and it's implications!

We would like to thank our wonderful panelists, Peggy Sapp, Susan Kelsey, Sheriff Demings and Karen Bailey for joining us for this webinar. We would also like to thank the Florida Sheriffs Association for partnering with us to deliver this important message. They are all doing a great job in promoting prevention in their communities!

As Election Day draws near, “medical marijuana” has become a hot topic, and many have asked me about my position concerning constitutional Amendment 2. That’s simple:  I am personally against the amendment because I know it is a ruse that will create defacto-legalization of marijuana in Florida. The amendment supporters are counting on those of us who are compassionate and who want to help the very sick, to ignore the very real negative consequences of legalization. 

Positive parenting aims to promote children's development and manage children's behavior and emotions in a constructive and non-hurtful way. It is based on strong, nurturing relationships, good communication and positive attention to help children develop.

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU VOTE FOR!!!

Society is overwhelmed with information, so we just hit “agreed” and proceed. Who has time to read all the legalese?

That is the situation Floridians are facing November 4, 2014, when voting on Amendment 2 (Medical Marijuana). We are tired of the drug war and want to stop hearing about it! So it is tempting to just hit “agreed” and move on. But, this time it is critical to read the legalese and accept that Amendment 2 is no panacea for fixing society’s drug problem.

This year’s National Red Ribbon theme is “Love Yourself. Be Drug Free.”

When I first heard it, I thought it was brilliant. But, then it led me to thinking about how we can truly inspire our children to love themselves and how we can more fully love ourselves. What does it mean to “love yourself?” What can we all do to love ourselves?

Here are 7 ideas to help demonstrate, nurture and grow self-love:

Over the past couple of years, we’ve heard something really surprising from parents. Some parents have told us that either: