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A Family Guide to Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy & Drug FreeA Family Guide to Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy & Drug Free Monitor Your Child's ActivitiesA Family Guide to Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy & Drug Free
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Start Talking Before They Start Drinking
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
The Internet can be a setting for risky behaviornearly 2 in 3 teenagers who go online say they do things there that they would not want their parents to know about. Almost half of 16- and 17-year-olds say their parents know little or nothing about the teens online behavior.1
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Monitor Your Child's Activities
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Do you know what your child listens to and reads and how she* spends time with her friends? Talking with your child about her interests opens up an opportunity for you to share your values. And research says that monitoring your child's activities is an important way to lower her chances of getting involved in situations you don't approve of, especially those that can be harmful. Unsupervised children simply have more opportunities to experiment with risky behaviors, including the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs, and they may start substance abuse at earlier ages. In this section, you'll find information and tips to help you monitor your child's activities at home, school, and elsewhere.

Monitor Your Child's Activities. Here's How!
With all the advantages they bring, technologies, such as Web sites, blogs, spam and text messages, can also expose teens to threats like dangerous drugs and put them in contact with dealers or sexual predators. Parents need to monitor their teens activities and help them navigate the temptations in the digital world. Heres how.


Latest Articles

  • Turnoff Week 2008
    Every day, children ages 8 to 18 spend more than 6 hours watching TV, playing video games, or using the computer for recreational purposes. The more time youth spend in front of the screen, the more likely they are to be overweight.
  • Know What Your Child Watches on TV
    Nature programs, historical documentaries, game shows that test your mind—it’s all good stuff on your television. However, some dangerous and alarming programming is on the TV too!
  • Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
    In a typical high school class of 30 students, three have driven under the influence of alcohol in the last month, while 10 of those kids have been a passenger of a classmate who drove after drinking.
  • Teaching Kids a Sense of Responsibility
    Too often, kids and parents tangle over who’s responsible for what chore around the house. But experts say to look beyond the individual chore at hand.
  • Grandparents: Are You Cool?
    If your grandchild says to you, “You rock,” that’s a compliment. “You rule” is another compliment. Both mean that you are “cool.” If you’re described as “wicked cool,” then you have reached the top, you are extremely cool. Of course, depending on where you live, the words expressing compliments may be different.
  • Hey, Mom! I'm a Vegetarian!
    One day, your child could come home and say: Mom, I’m a vegetarian! Or, your child also could come home and declare, “Hey, Dad, I am a vegan.” Such pronouncements can fill parents’ heads with questions and concerns. Is a decision to follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle a good thing? Why did my child decide on such a dietary lifestyle? How can I support my child in her decision?
  • Healthy Eating on the Fly
    Many on-the-go families may feel like marathon runners as they move through their busy schedules. With work and school demands, family commitments, evening activities—and only 24 hours in a day—it seems that parents and children remain in near-perpetual motion.
  • Energy Drinks: Power Boosts or Empty Boasts?
    Slick packaging, edgy themes, exotic ingredients, and special formulas are all part of the hype about energy drinks. A growing number of beverages promise quick energy as well as performance and nutritional benefits to athletes, students, partygoers—anyone who wants a pick-me-up. Yet, claims about these products often are inflated while health risks such as dehydration, overstimulation, and the double danger of combining energy drinks with alcohol receive little attention.
  • Supplements: Added Risk, Doubtful Benefit
    The pressures of competitive high school sports and a culture that values being thin might tempt your teen to try a dietary or sports supplement. However, most teens and adults are not aware of the danger of using supplements. They can be harmful to your health and can even result in death.
  • Warm Up and Work Out: Get Your Family Moving!
    Are you having a hard time starting a new exercise routine or keeping up with the one you already have?

    Are your kids spending too much time talking on the phone or staring at the TV or a computer screen?


* 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 3/15/07