Raising Healthy Kids

Mom Warns Parents: Drug Abuse Can Happen at Home

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Raising Healthy Kids on October 12th, 2011

In Boston, a local mom has taken the initiative to warn parents that drug abuse can happen at home, without them knowing it.

cocaine abuseSue Silva lived a normal life together with her four kids in the suburbs, confident with their strong family ties. Her kids were doing well, except for her son Mike Kujanpaa.

Mike began with prescription drugs which were legally obtained after his surgery. He went from Oxycodone, then to Percocet 30s, until he reached heroin. By the time he was 14, Mike was already using cocaine.

Today at 24, Mike is in recovery, and he and his mother have joined the community program “Don’t Be Blind-sighted” which aims to inform parents that drug abuse could happen at home without the parents ever knowing before it’s too late.

“The worst ‘aha’ moment was the day we found the syringes in his bedroom,” said Sue Silva. Silva admits she was blind-sighted by her son’s drug problem.

As she and Mike share their experiences with parents in the community, they have given a list of things at home which when lost for no reason at all, could indicate something not good is happening.

“The cotton balls and Q-tips are used to filter the liquid heroin once they cook it down,” said Silva. “Burnt spoons — my spoons were missing. I thought, ‘Where did my spoons go?’” she said

East Bridgewater Chief of Police John Cowan said that there have been 38 drug-related arrests in their area for the past year. From teenagers to the elderly, prescription drug abuse has become rampant.

Silvia and the East Bridgewater Police hope that they could take their program to as many areas as possible.

“The quicker you draw the line, the quicker you save their life. If you wait for them to hit bottom in your house, you might be taking them out in a body bag,” she said.

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Infrequent Family Dinners Linked to Teen Substance Abuse

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Abuse Prevention, Raising Healthy Kids on September 26th, 2011

A report on The Importance of Family Dinners, from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia), revealed that teens who share dinners with their families infrequently are more likely to smoke, drink, or use pot.

family dinners‘Infrequent family dinners‘ was defined as fewer than three per week, while ‘frequent’ was defined as five to seven family dinners per week. The report indicated that teens who shared infrequent family dinners were almost four times more likely to smoke; more than twice as likely to drink alcohol; and two and a half times likelier to use pot. They are also almost four times more likely to try illegal drugs.

Joseph A. Califano, Jr., Founder and Chairman of CASA Columbia and former U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, shared: “This year’s study reinforces the importance of frequent family dinners… Ninety percent of Americans who meet the medical criteria for addiction started smoking, drinking, or using other drugs before age 18. Parental engagement in children’s lives is key to raising healthy, drug-free kids and one of the simplest acts of parental engagement is sitting down to the family dinner. Seventeen years of surveying teens has taught us that the more often children have dinner with their families the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.”

On the other hand, teens who share frequent dinners with family were found to be more likely to have excellent relationships with the other members of their family.

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Happy Disposition Helps Fight Teen Drug Abuse

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Drug Addiction, Raising Healthy Kids on September 25th, 2011

A recent study suggests that happy adolescents are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.

Researchers from the UC Davis found out that it is important to secure children’s happiness while they are still at home with parents. The report titled “Get Happy! Positive Emotion, Depression and Juvenile Crime” was presented by sociology professor and co-author Bill McCarthy and postdoctoral researcher Teresa Casey from UC Davis during the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting in Las Vegas last August 22.

happy adolescentsIn the study, nearly 15,000 seventh- to ninth-grade students took part in the survey which tackled criminal offenses, use of illegal drugs, and their emotional well-being. Data gathered showed that about 29% of the respondents have committed a criminal offense and 18% have tried the use of illegal drugs. These results were then linked as to how each student assesses his emotional state.

Researchers were able to uncover the fact that the importance of happiness in an individual’s life, especially among adolescents, reaches more extensive areas in their lives. The happier a child or adolescent is with his life, the less he becomes susceptible to drug use and criminal offenses.

The study is said to be one of the few which takes the value of happiness into consideration and its effect to juvenile crime. While other studies have focused on negative emotions such as anger and rage as the causes of improper conduct among adolescents, their study looked into the positive feelings as deterrents for drug use and crime.

The proponents of the study believe that happiness enhances the decision-making skills of kids and that a healthy and positive state of emotions can prevent them from committing illegal acts.

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New York County Coalition Works on Keeping Parents Informed on Underage Drinking

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Raising Healthy Kids on September 16th, 2011

The quarterly meeting of the Genesee County Drug Free Communities Coalition focused on the ongoing problem of underage drinking, and keeping parents informed about it. The coalition is a program of the Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse (GCASA); around 75 people gathered for Tuesday’s meeting, including a dozen students from Batavia High School in Genesee County, New York.

underage drinkingGCASA director of prevention Maryann Bowman shared that the coalition was focusing on the promotion of parental involvement in the issue, in addition to working more closely with schools: “We have seen 25 to 50 percent decreases in underage drinking, especially binge drinking, at all grade levels as a result of our strategies such as Responsible Server Training, Accountability Circles, SUPA (Students United for Positive Action), STOPPED (Sheriffs Telling Our Parents and Promoting Educated Drivers) and Safe Homes. Moving forward, we will explore more ways to keep the momentum going.”

Also at the meeting was Jeffrey Rabey, superintendent of Depew Union Free School District. Rabey was on hand to discuss a program for required Parent Drug and Alcohol Awareness Seminars, which are being conducted at 17 school districts in Erie County. A similar program may be put in place by the coalition in Genesee County.

The aforementioned program called for parents of students involved in extra-curricular activities, as well as those who would like to attend school dances, to attend a 90-minute seminar at least once for the duration of their teen’s stay in high school.

The seminar covers the following topics, as listed in the report: legal implications of underage drinking and drug use; consequences for hosting parties; signs and symptoms of abuse; recognizing drugs and drug paraphernalia; and health risks associated with alcohol abuse.

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Survey: Parents Underestimate Teen Drug and Alcohol Use

Posted by Drug Free in Alcohol Abuse, Raising Healthy Kids, Tobacco Abuse on September 14th, 2011

It seems that a lot of parents are either unable – or unwilling — to see that their teens engage in drug and alcohol use.

parent and childThe results of a poll conducted by researchers from the University of Michigan, with parents of teens aged 13 to 17 years old as respondents, revealed that 10 percent of the respondents believe that their children have used alcohol in the last year, while 5 percent believe that their teens used marijuana.

A poll of teens, however, tells a different story. Recent research indicated that 52 percent of 10th graders admitted to drinking alcohol in the last year, while 18 percent admitted to using pot during the same time frame.

Bernard Biermann, the medical director of the Child/Adolescent Inpatient Unit at the University of Michigan, said: “There’s a clear mismatch between what parents are reporting in terms of their children’s possible use of substances and what teenagers report themselves.”

The poll also indicated that, while parents tend to underestimate their own teenaged child’s drug and alcohol use, they tend to overestimate the drug and alcohol use by other teenaged children. They believe that 60 percent of 10th graders drank alcohol in the last year, while at least 40 percent  used pot.

The researchers shared that “in other words, parents are more likely to expect marijuana and alcohol use by teenagers other than their own.”

In order to correct this mismatch, Dr. Biermann called on parents to improve communication with their children.

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Fighting Teen Drug Abuse: Short Guide to Parents

Posted by Drug Free in Drug Addiction, Raising Healthy Kids on September 13th, 2011

Summer has come and gone, and as the leaves turn gold, our teens go back to school and spend more time with their friends than they do at home. While they ideally are in school to learn what they need to learn in order to lead productive and fruitful adult lives, there are some who unfortunately take a different road. It is a parents’ worst nightmare. Vigilance and knowledge, however, can help in ensuring that your teen remains on the straight and narrow road.

teen drug abuseThe substances that are being abused – even by teens – include alcohol, marijuana, and tobacco, as well as ecstasy, cocaine/crack, heroin, and methamphetamine. While a recent survey indicated a decline in methamphetamine use, we should all remain vigilant about protecting our teens from the lure of meth.

Even sports have been tainted with substance abuse. Some athletes – professional or otherwise – have turned to steroids to improve their performance, and this trend has seeped through high school sports as well.

Another challenge is the fact that normal, everyday substances found in our homes are being abused. Prescription painkillers and cough medicines ought to bring relief to pain and cough, but their relative accessibility has led to abuse. Noxious chemicals that are meant to improve your home are being used as inhalants.

Parents may want to watch out for these outward signs, which may be indicative of substance abuse: changes in mood, attitudes, sleeping hobbies, and interests; unusual tantrums and outbursts; withdrawal; hostility; and poor grooming.

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