Underage Drinking And Binge Drinking Are Declining, But Something Worse May Be Replacing It

Inquisitr, June 14, 2015

"A recent government report revealed that underage drinking and binge drinking rates have largely dropped between 2002 and 2013. The percent of underage drinkers decreased from 28.8 percent to 22.7 percent in that 11-year period according to the Washington Post. Reportedly, the number of binge drinkers of all ages decreased from 19.3 percent to 14.2 percent, based on the survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The study also revealed that alcohol abuse is not as alluring to youth as it once was. However, alcohol abuse is still reported as the most common form of substance abuse for under aged kids. but another study found that another substance is just as popular, and for an even younger demographic than expected." Read more

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about underage drinking, visit our Resource Center here

Parents should ‘talk it out’ as summer begins

Citizen-Times, June 12, 2015

"North Carolina’s young people are marking the beginning of summer and the expanded sense of freedom this time of year often brings. As parents, we celebrate another year’s accomplishments with them. But we must also remember that in many ways, our job gets harder this time of year — especially when it comes to preventing underage drinking.

As chairman of the North Carolina ABC Commission, a former U.S. congressman and former lieutenant governor of this great state, I have always been committed to the health and safety of North Carolina’s young people and families. Now, I have nine additional reasons to take the issue of underage drinking very personally — my grandchildren. As parents and grandparents, we are all in this together. But in order for us to address this problem, we must understand how big of an issue it truly is in North Carolina." Read More

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about underage drinking, visit our Resource Center here

Alabaster schools launch app which allows students to report bullying

Fox 6 (Alabaster, AL) Jun 11, 2015

"Alabaster schools have some new policies and an app to help deal with bullying. The app was just created and will be in place when students return in the fall. It's called Anonymous Alerts.

Students can just download the app and if they are being bullied or if they know of someone who is being bullied. They can then shoot a text anonymously about the situation.

That information will go to that student's principal, the school resource officer, the superintendent and the system's student services coordinator, Dorann Tanner. Tanner said the schools aren't really seeing a big problem with bullying but they wanted students to have this tool just in case they need it." Read more

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about preventing bullying, visit our Resource Center here

JSD considers bullying prevention, intervention

JuneauEmpire.com, June 11, 2015

"After reports of violent hazing in high school sports and cruel bullying in schools and online, efforts in prevention and intervention on behalf of both the bullied and the bullies is a high priority for the Juneau School District.

Director of Student Services Bridget Weiss and Director of Teaching and Learning Ted Wilson presented to the Juneau Board of Education at its regular meeting on Tuesday strategies to improve school climate and decrease bullying and hazing.

Across the nation, Weiss said 1.5 million students report being hazed each year, and 28 percent of students between the ages of 12 and 19 report being bullied." Read more

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about preventing bullying, visit our Resource Center here

Sanger student recognized for anti-bullying efforts

Fresno bee, June 17, 2015

"Ryan Warren has put in hours of work raising awareness against bullying. He has created pledge cards, stickers and bracelets. He has spoken at the Sanger City Council, set up booths at city events to promote his cause and even held his own rally.

It’d be a lot for anyone to take on, much less a fourth-grader like Ryan. On Thursday he will be recognized for his efforts by the City Council.

Ryan, 10, has attended Hallmark Charter School in Sanger since leaving Centerville Elementary in January. He got the idea for his campaign, 'Stand Up & Be Heard: Stop Bullying Now,' after being harassed by some students at Centerville."Read more

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about preventing bullying, visit our Resource Center here.

Teen drug addiction: 7 things every parent should know

KSL.com (Salt Lake City), June 12th, 2015

"It is difficult to put the words 'children' and 'drug addiction' in the same sentence, but if we want to protect our kids from drug and alcohol abuse we need to educate them. Teens, and even younger kids, should know why they need to avoid substances and make smart choices.

Absorb these seven eye-opening facts about underage substance abuse — and make sure you share them with your kids as well.

1. Teenage drug use leads to addiction
According to Everyday Health, nine out of 10 adult addicts begin using before age 18. Additionally, 25 percent of Americans who started using any addictive substance before age 18 are still addicted.

At least part of the reason why teen substance users are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol as adults has to do with the developing brain. The Everyday Health article also says if substance abuse happens when the brain is more fully developed in your mid-20s, you are less likely to become addicted." Read more

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about substance abuse, visit our Resource Center here.

Prescription drug abuse among teens still a concern, doctors say

ABC2 (Baltimore), June 11, 2015

"For many teens across Maryland, last month represented prom season, a time of joy and excitement and a rite of passage for those preparing to graduate high school.

Dr. Annie Soriano views the season through a different lens. To Soriano, the division head of pediatric emergency medicine at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, knows it’s the time of year she expects to see more teens come through her hospital suffering for an accidental drug overdose.
'It’s prom season and there are girls out there that want to lose weight quickly to better fit into their dress and start taking diet pills,' Soriano said. 'It’s also finals season and teens are looking for pills that help them focus better and stay up longer.'" Read more

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about prescription drug abuse, visit our Resource Center here

10 ways to protect graduation celebration against underage drinking

Redlands daily facts, June 10, 2015

"While graduation is an important milestone in your teen’s journey to adulthood, it’s also a crucial time to promote responsible behavior.

These tips will help navigate the murky waters of hosting a graduation party that includes underage guests:
• Agree on a guest list ahead of time with your teen. Set a limit to the number of guests that can attend, to avoid last-minute party-crashers.

• In the party invitation, specify the beginning and ending time, and what guests may and may not bring." Read more

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about underage drinking, visit our Resource Center here.

Anti-Bullying Kid of the Week: Dare to be Different

WGN Radio, June 9, 2015

"Camille Paddock started an anti-bullying organization… and she’s sixteen. She was a victim of some pretty severe bullying, and now she’s entering pageants! Her story is very inspiring, and you can read more of her story below:

My daughter Camille is a 16 year old sophomore at Huntley high school in Huntley IL. She is the founder of a non for profit 501c3 anti bullying organization called Cam’s Dare to be different. Camille was a victim of bullying for years due to her alopecia. Alopecia is an auto immune disease that causes hair loss with no cure. Her hair started to fall out in about the 4th grade. She loss about 65% or so of her hair on the top of her head. We got pretty good at hiding it by parting her hair differently. In the 7th grade her hair started to grow back but she loss one and half of her eyebrows. The bullying started at that point. The bullies who were once her friends called her names like Freak and hairless cat. They would meow at her and laugh, they shoved her in the halls and threw food at her during lunch. She loss all of her friends except for one because they were afraid of being bullied. She felt alone and humiliated daily! I went to the school but nothing was done and the bullying just got worse. I watch helplessly as my once outgoing straight A student go into a deep dark hole. Nothing we said helped." Read more

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about preventing bullying, visit our Resource Center here.

Restoring cars and fostering hope

Chicago Tribune, June 8, 2015

“Just in time for Father's Day is a story about two Chicago dads who want to share their skills because they know the importance of having a strong father figure.

Carlos Rhodes and Kenny Trotter, of the Beverly community, grew up in tough neighborhoods — Robbins and the Englewood community — but both credit their fathers and grandfathers for giving them a strong sense of what it is to be a man and a father.

Today, perhaps not even consciously, both men are honoring their dads and granddads by launching a mentoring program for disadvantaged youth. Calling their program Mach 1 Mentoring, the men are using their own money and freely giving their time to rehab a building they bought in Blue Island. They are in the last stages of fixing up the space so they can bring in old cars that young people will restore to showroom quality.” Read more 

For more information about mentoring, visit our Resource Center here.

The New Age of Bullying: Cyber and In-Person Harassment and Black Children

Atlanta Black Star, June 8, 2015 

"Gone are the days when good-natured teasing and a safe but comfortable social awkwardness were just a part of growing up. Most people can remember being teased by their friends and classmates for being taller or shorter than everyone in the class at some point. Some people recall being bullied after having to get braces or glasses. And of course, there was always a bully or two in every school who stole lunch money from smaller, weaker children and basically took pleasure in intimidating those who were too scared to fight back.

While it’s true that some of these bullying situations went further than they should have, cyber bullying has taken harassment and criticism to an overwhelmingly new level for today’s school-aged children and teenagers. To make things worse, Black and brown children are more likely to experience and exhibit bullying. This is likely due to the growing (and ever present) racial tension in the U.S., as well as the messages of self-hate that are rampant in many communities of color." Read more

For tips and resources to talk to your teen about preventing bullying, visit our Resource Center here.

Racial discrimination and ethnic identity in Latina/o youth

The Chronicle of Evidenced Based Mentoring, May 28, 2015


"Ali Mroczkowski, my student, and I recently published a study on the roles of adult racial discrimination and ethnic identity in Latina/o youth’s perception of the economic value of education (Mroczkowski & Sánchez, 2015). The youth in our study were high school students who were mostly from ethnically homogenous communities and schools. Thus, there might not have been much opportunity to experience racial discrimination from adults, and as such, students generally reported no to little racial discrimination from adults. However, even experiencing just a little discrimination was enough to be related to lower perceptions of the economic value of education. The more racial discrimination that youth reported in 9th grade, the less they perceived in 10th grade that earning an education would pay off economically. In fact, we found that this relationship was only supported for the male students in our study. It seems that Latino male students are more sensitive to the negative effects of racial discrimination on their values and attitudes toward education.

But we found that ethnic identity can play a protective role in the negative effects of racial discrimination. A stronger ethnic identity weakened the negative effect of racial discrimination on male students’ perception of the economic value of education.” Read more

For more information on Understanding the Needs of Latino Families, view our webinar here.

The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids Collaborates with DDB California on New Campaign That Offers Parents “Real Help”

Partnership for Drug Free Kids, April 8, 2015


"The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, a national nonprofit working to reduce substance abuse among adolescents by supporting families and engaging with teens, is collaborating with DDB California on a new, integrated creative campaign that includes TV, print and radio public service announcements (PSAs). The ads are part of a campaign called 'Real Help,' and are geared toward parents of teens and young adults who have been impacted by substance abuse or addiction. The TV spots were directed by two-time Oscar®-Winner Angus Wall, who edited blockbuster films like 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,' 'The Social Network' and 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.'

The 'Real Help' campaign is comprised of three :30 TV spots (Awkward Silence, Just a Phase, Embrace), one :15 TV spot (Awkward Silence), two print ads (Awkward Silence, Hug) and one :30 radio spot (Awkward Silence)." Read More

For more information on substance abuse among teens, visit our Resource Center here.

Yale study treating and preventing opioid dependency

WTNH (NEW HAVEN, Conn.), June 2, 2015

"The number of opioid dependent patients in the country is now a major public health issue. A Yale study and a legislative effort aims to treat and prevent addiction.

It’s estimated 100 million people in the U.S. need pain medication, but those who are addicted or overdose on it find themselves in the emergency department.

'Similar to any other chronic-relapsing disease in the emergency department, we screen and we often initiate treatment,' said Dr. Gail D’Onofrio.

She and Dr. David Fiellin did more than that. The Yale School of Medicine researchers offered them an opportunity to sign up for a multi-intervention study. They found that those treated with buprenorphine, brand name Suboxone, responded best." Read More

For more information on substance abuse among teens, visit our Resource Center here.