Middle School Marks Most Critical Time to Start Ongoing Conversations About Drug and Alcohol Use...( - September is Key Time to Start T...),Health

- September is Key Time to Start Talking With 'Tweens': TimeToTalk.org Provides Parents With Helpful Tips and Tools to Begin Middle School Safely

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NEW YORK, Sept. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Because many parents have a difficult time talking to their kids about drugs and alcohol, The Partnership for a Drug-Free America(R)'s new nationwide parent movement Time To Talk(TM) (http://www.TimeToTalk.org), -- a campaign celebrating the influence parents have on the decisions their children make for themselves -- is providing parents and caregivers with the resources they want and need to protect their children. Middle school is a crucial time for parents to start talking -- research shows that by 8th grade, many kids have been exposed to tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and inhalants. A significant number of middle-schoolers have also been exposed to drugs like Ecstasy, cocaine, or heroin, all of which are very dangerous substances.(1)

With access to conversation starters and a supportive online parent forum, TimeToTalk.org empowers parents to take an active role in prevention by having ongoing conversations with their children during their middle school and teen years.

Some useful tips from TimeToTalk.org for parents and caregivers of middle-schoolers include:

-- Communicate: Make it very clear that you do not want him/her to use

alcohol, tobacco, inhalants, marijuana and other drugs.

-- Ask Questions: Find out if your teen is in situations involving drugs

or alcohol and if they really understand the consequences -- physical,

emotional and legal -- of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use,

including abuse of over-the-counter and prescription drugs.

-- Be Involved: Get to know your child's friends by taking them to and

from after-school activities and social engagements.

-- Check-in: Schedule weekly fami
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