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. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager