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Nearly 1 in 5 teens (4.5 million people) said that they use prescription medications to get high,1 and 1 in 10 (2.4 million people) said that they use prescription stimulants and tranquilizers to get high.2 Nearly two-thirds of teens report that prescription pain relievers are easy to find at home, in the medicine cabinet.3
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Raising the Kind of Kid Who Is Kind to Others
Kindness is one of the most important habits that we can help our kids develop. When we do a "good deed" for other people, it makes them feel good and it makes us feel good-but kindness carries other benefits, too. Research shows that being kind can benefit physical and mental health, and it helps people feel more connected to their communities.
Stress Management for Children: Add Play to Child’s Day
Children, teens, and their parents are under more stress than ever. Lists of "things to do" and "stars to reach for" grow longer. More to do means more stress to manage. This advice about stress management for children may seem ironic but holds true: When your child or teenager seems stressed by a busy schedule, schedule some time for free play.
Surgeon General Calls for Action on Underage Drinking
The U.S. Surgeon General has issued a wakeup call to every American to join in solving the underage drinking problem. Parents and other caregivers, communities, governments—all sectors of society—are challenged to answer the call.
Ads Make Tobacco Tempting
Want to cut the risk that your child will start using tobacco? Be ready to stand firm. Slick marketing of tobacco products can exert a powerful influence on young people looking for new experiences. Still, parents who are aware of these effects can help guard adolescents against messages that promote risky behavior.
Children and Obesity
The numbers are alarming. Childhood obesity is on the rise, with almost 15 percent of children aged 10 to 17 years old considered overweight. The health concerns are clear. Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and other obesity-related chronic diseases previously seen only in adults are now showing up in children.
Resolving Conflicts: Lessons for Life
When kids argue, the sights and sounds of conflict can be alarming and can make your stress level soar. While quieting things down is your first concern, engaging the quarrelers rather than simply laying down the law can provide lasting benefits.
Caring for Kids Whose Parents Abuse Alcohol
Nearly 11 million children under the age of 20 live with a parent or other caregiver who abuses alcohol.1 They often live in an atmosphere of denial, fear, and chaos, and may be emotionally or physically neglected or abused. As a result, they learn not to talk about their family’s problems, trust others, or express their feelings.
Summer: Time for Teens To Get Busy
School is out! These are the words many kids long to hear. Free from homework, tests, getting up early, or keeping up with scheduled activities, students may look forward to a summer of taking it slow, sleeping late, and hanging out with friends. Taking a break is healthy and refreshing for teens, yet relaxing can grow dull quickly. That's when your help and encouragement can go a long way toward helping your child find interesting things to do.
Coping Skills for the Little Things
Often, the "little things" add up and can have a big impact on how your teen feels. Things like forgetting her lunch, dealing with someone who is teasing her, or losing her homework may seem small to you, but they're important to your teen. When many things combine, they form what feels like a mountain of problems that's just too big for your teen to climb. However, learning to take on challenges step by step can help your teen cope with and manage stress.
When Your Middle Schooler Doesn't Make the Team
"Did I make it?" For youth, trying out for sports teams can bring joy or sadness. Around age 11, children can try out for select or elite sports teams. Soccer and basketball teams choose travel squads. Little League picks "all-star" teams to compete in tournaments. Even school sports teams require tryouts. What if your child doesn't make the team?
Alcohol Use by Children: Signs and Solutions
Knowledge is parental power. When you have the facts about alcohol use by children, you can practice prevention.
Create a Family Tree
Have you ever come across an old black-and-white photograph in your home and wondered about the people in the picture? How are these people related to you? Where did they live? When did they come to this country and where did they come from?
Celebrate Your Family History
Your family is unique and so is your family's history. Set aside time to connect with your roots. Why? By getting to know your ancestry, you find out more about yourself and your identity.
Get Involved in your Child's Life At School
Parents have an important role in a child's life at school. Getting involved may seem challenging and time consuming, but the benefits are countless.
Legal but Lethal: The Danger of Abusing Over-the-Counter Drugs
Parents worry about their child being offered drugs from a stranger on a street corner or a friend at a party. But a child can get deadly drugs from a person you might never suspect—you. The over-the-counter (OTC) drugs you use to soothe a cough or clear a stuffy nose can be abused by kids looking for an easy and cheap way to get high.
Tie Between Substance Abuse and Dating Teens
It's an old story—when kids start dating, parental concern often begins to rise. A new study gives parents more to think about: the link between dating and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. This tie is connected closely to the most important problems teens say they face: drugs and social pressures, such as being popular and fitting in.
Have a Safe and Sober Holiday
What comes to mind when you think of the holidays? Sitting in front of a warm glowing fire? Spending time with loved ones? Eating too much? Where does substance use fit into this picture?
Elementary School Success Helps Keep Kids Drug Free
Children in elementary school learn that part of being a success is doing well in the classroom. But there’s another benefit to school success: Kids who do well in school are more likely to be drug free.1 It’s one more great reason for you to help your child thrive in the classroom
Recognizing and Treating Attention Deficit Disorder
Kevin twists and fidgets as he tries to work on his homework. Unable to find his assignment sheet in his messy binder, he leaps up and begins to bounce off the sofa and chairs. His mother demands that he stop before he breaks something. He doesn't look at his mother, or even seem to hear her. Both Kevin and his mother are frustrated by this familiar battle. But Mom has another worry. Is her son just a very active boy or does he have attention deficit disorder (ADD)?
Help With Homework
As a parent, it's important for you to be involved in your child's education, and one way to do that is to help your child with homework. This may seem easier said than done...especially when your child would rather watch TV than do homework or if your child's math homework is too difficult for you to understand. However, helping your child with homework can teach him the most critical lesson of all—that learning is valuable and interesting and can be fun.
Where Did the Time Go? Spend Time With Your Kids Now
Time flies! It’s an old saying, but in today’s fast-paced world, it’s never been so true. Before we know it, our kids are all grown up—out on their own or off to college. Most parents realize the rewards of close family ties. Yet the demands of jobs and day-to-day household activities can be stressful and tiring. So, it’s easy for quality time with our kids to get squeezed out.
We All Have Mental Health; Time To End the Stigma
Like opinions, mental health is something we all have. Just as with physical health, a person’s mental health can range from good to poor. Why do we react one way when we learn that a friend has depression and another way when we learn that a friend has heart disease or cancer? In fact, good mental health is essential to overall good physical health.
Does Your Child Have a Mental Health Disorder?
A recent study shows that children’s use of drugs to treat mental health problems tripled between 1987 and 1996.1 The reason for the increase is unclear, and the causes of mental health disorders among children and teens are complex. But every child’s mental health is important.
When Your Child Needs Substance Abuse Treatment
It’s hard for most parents to believe that their child might be caught up in substance abuse and in need of professional help. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t see the warning signs until your child was in trouble or until someone told you about a drug problem in your family.
April Is Alcohol Awareness Month
Parties, popularity, peer pressure. So many things tempt teens to try alcohol that more than half of underage youth have tried alcohol. Almost 30 percent of teens have taken part in binge drinking in the past month.
Sleep and Your Family
Are you tired of feeling tired? If so, you’re not alone. Many Americans don’t get enough sleep. But you may not know just how much sleep—or the lack of sleep—affects you and your family.
National Children of Alcoholics Week: February 8–14, 2004
Often, the people hurt most by alcohol abuse don’t even drink. They are the children of alcoholics. In the United States, an estimated 28.6 million people have parents who abuse alcohol.1 Nearly 11 million of these individuals are children who are under age 20.2 They are at higher risk for problems at school and behavioral problems such as lying, stealing, or fighting. They also have a higher risk of depression and anxiety disorders. Children who grow up in homes with parents who abuse alcohol are more likely to become alcoholics themselves.3
Building a Grand Relationship Helps Keep Youth Drug Free
America's grandparents believe they are sharing a number of roles with parents in raising their grandchildren. More than half believe they are making a very important contribution to the lives of their grandchildren. Among the most important tasks that grandparents take on is talking with their grandchildren about a variety of issues. Making the most of chances to talk about tough issues like alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs is one way that grandparents can help keep youth mentally healthy and drug free.
Strengthening Families Strengthens Communities
All parents want their children to be safe, healthy, and successful. However, despite their best intentions, not all parents can help to develop, nurture, monitor, and discipline their child in the best way. This is where communities can step in, since supporting a family in ways that improve a child's well-being help to create better adults, and, eventually, better communities.
November Is National Adoption Month
Have you ever thought about adopting a child? If so, you’re not alone. According to the National Adoption Attitudes Survey, nearly 40 percent (4 in 10) of American adults, or 81.5 million people, have considered adopting a child. November is National Adoption Month. The theme of this year’s National Adoption Month 2003 Campaign, “There’s No Place Like Your Home,” pushes families across America to open their hearts and homes to children in need of foster care or adoption.
National Red Ribbon Week
During the week of October 23-31, 2003, millions of young people and adults celebrate a healthy, drug-free lifestyle by wearing or displaying a red ribbon during National Red Ribbon Week. This nationwide celebration has become a major force for raising public awareness and mobilizing communities to combat alcohol and drug use among youth.
Native American and Alaskan Native Month
November is Native American/Alaska Native Heritage Month. This observance started in 1915 as an effort to mark the major contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of this Nation, and it has since grown into a month-long celebration.
It’s Cold Out (In Most States!) and You’re Stuck Inside—Activities to Do With Your Children
The winter months can be hard on both parents and children, especially when the weather is cold and you're stuck inside the house. To prevent cabin fever, here are some indoor activities you can do with your children.
Quality, Not Quantity
Quality family time does not have to be time spent on a specific activity. The key element in quality time is that you, as the parent or caregiver, give your undivided attention to your child—you are fully present to her.
On Valentine's Day and Beyond: Showing Love in the World
Valentine's Day can be great fun for your child as she prepares valentines for her friends and then gets that shoebox filled with valentines in return. It also can be a wonderful opportunity to talk with her about friendship, love, and consideration. Valentine's Day can help teach your child about treating everyone equally, caring for one's friends, and strength of character.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day...Respecting Other People's Civil Rights!
On August 28, 1963, about 250,000 people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, to listen as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his now famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Even though most of the activities around the civil rights movement took place in the South, for many Americans this event made the civil rights movement and its goals a very real possibility.
Activities To Do as a Family
As parents, you want to guide and support your children toward a healthy future. How can you set good examples for your children? How can you do more together as a family? Community service and volunteering are ways to do both.
* We refer to a child as "him" in some places and "her" in others. We do this for easier reading. All information applies to both boys and girls unless otherwise specified.
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Last updated on 7/16/08
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