Let’s face it – kids don’t come with a handbook – and simply talking to them about substance abuse can seem daunting.

However, kids are 50 percent less likely to engage in risky alcohol and drug use when taught about the risks and dangers by their parents, according to a joint report by the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids and MetLife Foundation.

For more information on the Talk Early and Often initiative, visit www.talkearlyandoften.org.

Underage drinking continues to be a national public health issue, especially among adolescents. An estimated 10 million people younger than the age of 21 in the United States drank alcohol in the past month.

In Wyoming, 23 percent of all high school students have had their first drink before the age of 13.

Underage drinking puts children at risk for a variety of short and long-term physical and emotional problems. It also affects and endangers the lives of those around them.

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What Can Parents Do?

First, understand that underage alcohol consumption isn’t a right of passage in Wyoming – and that hosting a party in your home for underage youth sets a bad precedent. Second, talk early and often to your children about the dangers of alcohol and substance abuse.

It’s an issue that Wyoming’s First Lady Carol Mead is completely passionate about.

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As First Lady of Wyoming, I have chosen healthy lifestyles for kids as part of my child’s issues initiative because Governor Mead and I feel that children are our greatest asset in the state. To the extent that we can foster their safe, happy and healthy upbringings, we ensure a successful future for them and, in turn, for Wyoming.

-Carol Mead, First Lady of Wyoming

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The Sweetwater County Prevention Management Organization of Wyoming has a handy, 16-page booklet entitled “How to Talk to Kids about Alcohol and Other Drugs” to help get the conversation started. To get your FREE copy, call community prevention specialists Cassandra Crumpton or Rick Hays at 307-389-7364.

Call 307-389-7364 for a FREE “How to Talk to Kids about Alcohol and Other Drugs” booklet.

“In this booklet, you will find eye-opening information on the health effects of alcohol, tobacco and other drug use in young people so you can speak with your child about it from an informed position,” Crumpton said. “You’ll also find helpful tips on how to talk to your child — at every age and stage — about alcohol, tobacco and other drug abstinence.”

Most six-year-olds know that alcohol is only for adults. Between the ages of 9 and 13, children start to think differently about alcohol. Many children begin to think underage drinking is OK. Some even start to experiment.

In fact, around 80 percent of children feel that parents should have a say in whether they drink alcohol.

It is never too early, or too often, to talk to your children about alcohol.

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In 2010, underage drinking cost the United States $62 billion, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). These costs include medical care, work loss, and pain and suffering associated with the multiple problems resulting from the use of alcohol by youth.

Children who drink alcohol are more likely to:

• Use drugs – Frequent binge drinkers (nearly 1 million high school students nationwide) are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, including using other drugs such as marijuana and cocaine.
• Get bad grades – Children who use alcohol have higher rates of academic problems and poor school performance compared with nondrinkers.
• Suffer injury or death – In 2009, an estimated 1,844 homicides; 949,400 nonfatal violent crimes such as rape, robbery, and assault; and 1,811,300 property crimes, including burglary, larceny, and car theft were attributable to underage drinking.
• Engage in risky sexual activity – Young people who use alcohol are more likely to be sexually active at earlier ages, to have sexual intercourse more often, and to have unprotected sex.
• Make bad decisions – Drinking lowers inhibitions and increases the chances that children will engage in risky behaviors or do something they will regret when they are sober.
• Have health problems – Young people who drink are more likely to have health issues such as depression and anxiety disorders.

But as parents, you have it in your power to change you child’s future. By knowing the facts – and talking early and often to our kids – we can help them say no to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs every time.

For more information on the First Lady’s Talk Early and Often initiative, visit www.talkearlyandoften.org.

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