Creating holiday crafts with kids is more than just a fun activity; it's an opportunity for family bonding, which is crucial for the healthy development of children and teens. At Informed Families, we understand the significance of family togetherness in reducing the risk of substance abuse among young people. Parental involvement is indeed the most potent weapon in preventing substance abuse among youth.
Topics: holidays, lock your meds, family bonding, safe homes smart parties, alcohol use
The holiday season is a special time for family, warmth, and creating lasting memories. One of the most cherished traditions in many households is cooking together. It's more than just preparing food; it's an opportunity for bonding, sharing stories, and reinforcing family ties.
Topics: holidays, family bonding, safe homes smart parties, alcohol use, family dinner
The holiday season is a time of joy, celebration, and connection. However, amidst the festive spirit, it's crucial to ensure our homes remain safe and welcoming for everyone. Drawing inspiration from Informed Families' "Safe Homes Smart Parties" campaign, this blog aims to provide you with practical tips to make your home a safer place during the holiday celebrations.
Topics: holidays, lock your meds, safe homes smart parties, alcohol use
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
When it comes to addiction, a lot of young people think it can’t happen to them. But it can, and it does. Especially with a drug like Xanax.
Topics: parenting, addiction, teenagers, safe homes smart parties, children, teens, drug trend
Too many people think that illegal drug use and drug overdose deaths can only happen to other people’s kids. Or to “losers” who come from a “bad” background.
Topics: safe homes smart parties
While the media has been focused on the opioid crisis, the number of alcohol-related deaths more than doubled from 35,914 in 1999 to 72,558 in 2017. Women have been impacted the most.
According Dr. George F. Koob, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Director, “alcohol is a growing women’s health issue. The rapid increase in deaths involving alcohol among women is troubling and parallels the increases in alcohol consumption among women over the past few decades.”
Trends like Mommy wine culture, which normalizes the idea of drinking alcohol as a way to cope with stress, and sipping while shopping have become commonplace. We should always keep in mind that our kids are watching our behaviors. Do we want them to turn to alcohol as a way to escape from everyday stress or as the only way to relax and unwind?
They are bombarded with images promoting alcohol in that way already. A new report from the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs says alcohol ads are leading teens to drink. A study in the Preventive Medicine journal found that social media could be sending out positive messaging about alcohol use as well.
Sign the Safe Homes Smart Parents pledge, and let’s work together to stem the tide of alcohol-related deaths by discouraging underage and binge drinking.
Peggy
Topics: President's Message, safe homes smart parties, underage drinking, alcohol, teens, binge drinking, Peggy Sapp, media, alcohol abuse
“I learned how to handle peer pressure and say no to drugs.”
“I didn’t know people could die from alcohol poisoning.”
“I didn’t know how much of a problem prescription drug abuse was.”
“Many of our peers are dealing with drug issues themselves or have a family member with a problem.”
Student ambassadors in the Miami-Dade County Public Schools Creating Community Change: Youth Engagement Program (CCC:YEP) program shared these messages and much more during their end of the year presentations at the Betty T. Ferguson Center in Miami Gardens on May 22, 23 and 24.
Topics: red ribbon week, ambassadors, prescription drug abuse, lock your meds, safe homes smart parties, middle school, peer pressure, drug free, drug prevention, parent peer group, miami gardens, miami
I recently read that some families now have five living generations. Imagine that. Each generation has a totally different world view and processes information in a different way. However simply engaging with others remains the key to communicating effectively.
Topics: President's Message, parenting, communication, safe homes smart parties, underage drinking, teens, peer pressure, parents, alcohol use, alcohol abuse
As our Safe Homes Smart Parents campaign kicks off, we think about all of the unhealthy trends facing our youth and what parents can do to protect their children. Right now, we are fired up about the 78% increase in e-cigarette use among high school students, as a result of JUUL Labs’ targeting of our youth. According to the U.S. Surgeon General, last year, 3.6 million U.S. youth use e-cigarettes. Talk to any teacher or parent of a teen and they will confirm the schools are overrun by JUUL and kids are showing real signs of addiction.
Some lucky ones will put away their JUULs before they’re addicted. But many are embarking on a lifelong addiction to nicotine. Many of those will continue to use JUUL for a considerable amount of time, and we simply do not know what consequences long-term use will have on their health.
What we do know is that e-cigarettes are not safe. And we know that nicotine use by children and teens negatively impacts their brain development. Among other things, it makes them more susceptible to addiction in general. The larger fear is they switch entirely to cigarettes and other tobacco products that are even more dangerous.
Topics: President's Message, parenting, safe homes smart parties, children, tobacco, parents, juul
