Pubdate: Wed, 19 Jan 2005
Source: Whitecourt Star (CN AB)
Copyright: 2005 Whitecourt Star
Contact:  http://www.whitecourtstar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/718
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

REACHING OUT WITH OPEN EARS

For some parents, they feel like they're at a total loss when trying to 
talk to their kids about drugs, the dangers of drugs and the consequences.

Once a child is introduced and decides to experiment, is it too late for 
parents to get involved?

It's never too late.

Drugs are claiming the lives, living and dead, of thousands, perhaps a few 
million, people on this continent. And why? Well, if we had the answer to 
this magical question, we could solve it.

There are so many factors which play into why kids try drugs and later 
abuse them.

As many people might have noticed, methamphetamines are more than a growing 
concern in Whitecourt. The days of this community being a sleepy little 
hollow along a major highway are gone, and gone for good. As we grow, so do 
the problems and it's up to us to work on a solution. Depending only on one 
group or organization is irresponsible. It takes a community to raise a 
child, but parenting begins at home.

Thankfully, parent support networks have formed to give caregivers a place 
to go, share experiences and look for answers. A new program, Drug Proof 
Your Kids, is more than what this title indicates. The formula is based on 
communication ---- communication between spouses and parents and their 
children.

No child came into this world with an instruction manual and no parent is 
perfect, but as soon as the lines of communication are damaged, the 
potential is there for children to seek outside support, love and their 
idea of nurturing.

Preteens and teens don't have it easy in this town. There are everyday 
stresses that many adults don't or can't recognize, such as keeping up with 
their friends financially, social pressures of being considered cool and 
doing what they think their peers will look up to.

Daily torment and abuse coincides with not being accepted by peers, put 
down because they don't fit in or do what the rest do, which leads to 
isolation and detachment.

It seems as if leading the right way is harder than being a follower down 
the wrong path. But no one ever said life was easy and that making the 
right decisions were always cool ---- but at least it keeps you out of the 
hospital and out of a jail cell.

Positive decision making skills is the key factor, along with open lines of 
communication. No matter the severity or the situation, children need to 
feel comfortable when talking to their parents, or any other caregiver, 
about the things they face.

All it takes is once ---- once for a parent to not be there when needed, 
for a parent to not listen when asked and for a parent to ignore the signs 
they don't want to see.
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MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager