June 16, 2006
Parenting is not a "solo" job
Whether you're single or have a partner, you need people around you and your children who are supportive, affirming, and encouraging. Seeking advice, help and support from others gives you the ideas, encouragement and positive reinforcement you need to be a good parent and care for yourself. Research from Search Institute shows:
Only 45% of middle and high school youth indicated that they have three or more caring adults who they can turn to for advice and support about important questions in life
71 % of parents surveyed say it would really help to have other adults they trust spend time with their kids
Many adults believe they should be supporting young people and want to find ways to do so but
Nearly 3 in 10 parents report NO support from any source other than their spouse or partner
How to build a support team of Adults:
Strengthen your partner relationship - Reguarlarly set aside time to strenghten your relationship with your spouse or parenting partner. Be sure to check in every day, get away for a meal and conversation and take overnight retreats. And above all, continually encourage each other.
Build relationships in the neighborhood - Take advntage of or create opportunities to get to know your neighbors, such as block parties, invite them over to dinner and help them to become a friend to both you and your children. Plan or participate in events in ways that include and connect all generations.
Connect with other parents - Get to know other parents with children the same ages as your children. Share your expectations and struggles, brainstorm solutions and in general just be there for each other. Join Parent Corps by contacting pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org to form Parent Peer Groups or Neighborhood Networking Groups.
Stay involved during stressful times- Stay connected and involved with supportive people and places for your family-particularly during times of stress and transition. This may include extended family, a faith community, a social network, a service organization or other important people and places.
Parents with multiple sources of support are more likely to be better equipt to handle the challenges of parenting.
For more information about Parenting Matters go to http://www.mvparents.com
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 10:53 AM | Comments (200)
May 22, 2006
Parents should enforce clear messages about alcohol
Many parents are driving their kids to drink. Some parents think by letting their kids drink with their pals at home fosters responsible drinking and will make alcohol less alluring. The data strongly contradicts this thought. Studies show that teens who get booze from their parents are twice as likely to drink and binge drink, because their parent appears to sanction alcohol use.
Many parents also believe that the Europeans' attitiude towards youthful drinking yields more reasonable consumption. But an international report in 2004 found that 15 and 16 year-olds from 34 European countries drank and participated in binge drinking more often than Americans the same age.
Parents afraid their children will resent the no tolerance rule are relunctant to lay down the law. But research shows that kids need clear rules and enforcement of consquences.
What's a parent to do???
1. Set clear family rules about teen drinking, such as never drink with friends and never ride in a car with a driver who has been drinking.
2. Remind them that underage drinking is illegal, unhealthy and life threatening.
3. Never host a party unless you are willing to supervise it closely. Don't be on the second floor if the party's on the first.
4. Call parents whose home is to be used for a party. Make sure that adults will monitor the kids and that alcohol won't be served.
5. Don't supply liquor for your child's socializing. Parents who do double the chance that their teenager will become a heavy drinker.
6. Monitor the alcohol supply in your home. Make it clear that you don't allow unchaperoned parties in your house.
7. Set a good example. If you use alcohol, use it moderately. Don't glamorize your past alcohol use.
8. Ask your child where he or she is going, who they will be with and what they will be doing. Have your child check in regularly. Get to know your child's friends and their parents.
9. Set a curfew and enforce it
10. Impose consquences if your teen breaks one of your rules. Youth who expected a verbal reprimand if caught drinking were 1.5 times less likely to drink, and youth who anticipated loss of privileges were two times less likely to drink or binge drink than those whose parents did not respond to their drinking.
11. Work on the overall relationship with your teenager. Studies show good parent-child communication, mutual respect and collaborative decision making lower incidences of teen drinking.
12. Don't kid yourself into thinking your child is not at risk.. ALL KIDS ARE AT RISK
To find out more about Parent Corps and how to become a member contact pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 4:38 PM | Comments (201)
May 12, 2006
Drug use can damage the brain and lead to addiction
In adults, genetics are more than 50 percent responsible for addiction to alcohol. But new brain-imaging studies have shown that the teenage brain is a rapidly-changing organ and doesn't work the way an adult does. When teen's pleasured-chemical systems are not fully developed and they get wired to depend on substances for feeling good, the normal flow of brain chemicals that aid in learning, decision making and other key processes are often blocked. Drugs and alcohol can disrupt that massive renovation of the brain during adolescence, making it more vulnerable to drugs and easier for teens to get addicted.
Nearly half of kids who are regular drinkers before age 14 will become alcoholic. That puts early drinkers at three times greater risk of alcohol addiction than perople who wait until age 21 to start drinking. Once teens start to drink or use drugs, the consequences turn severe. Recent studies show that teens who start using marijuana before they turn 17 are at higher risk of developing schizophrenia than people who didn't use or started smoking marijuana later in adolescence or young adulthood.
Parental monitoring is one of the most consistent predictors of whether teens start using alcohol and other drugs. That means more than just having a good relationship with your kids. It means knowing where your children are, who they are with, and what they are doing. Children with higher levels of parental monitoring are less likely to start drinking or using drugs. Join Parent Corps today and learn how you can be a positive role model in your child's life. Contact pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org to receive a membership form.
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 5:15 PM | Comments (179)
April 18, 2006
Impact of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age
During the late 1960s and early 1970s, most States lowered the drinking age in response to public pressure. When the drinking age was lowered, the number of traffic fatalities among young people increased, prompting concern that young people were traveling between States in order to drink legally.
A limited number of States in the late 1970s and early 1980s raised the minimum legal drinking age to 21. Studies in those states showed a reduction in alcohol-related traffic crashes, a leading indicator of youth drinking. The Federal Government used these studies to pass legislation that would withhold funding unless a State raised the minimum legal drinking age to 21. Now all 50 states have the legal drinking age of 21.
April is Alcohol Awareness Month and you as a parent should be aware of the influence you have on your teen. While parent-child conversations about drinking are essential, talking is cheap. You also need to take concrete action to help teens resist alcohol. Research strongly shows that active, supportive involvement by parents and guardians can help teens avoid underage drinking and prevent later alcohol misuse. The message is clear. Teens still need plenty of adult supervision. Some ways to provide it :
Monitor Alcohol Use in Your Home
Connect with Other Parents
Keep Track of Your Teen's Activities
Develop Family Rules about Teen Drinking
Set a Good Example
Don't Support Teen Drinking
Help Your Child Build Healthy Friendships
Encourage Healthy Alternatives to Alcohol
For additional websites to assist you in your efforts to keep your teen drug free contact pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org and you will receive a list of websites for further support to assist you in reaching your goal.
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 2:12 PM | Comments (2291)
March 27, 2006
Prom Promise Youth Corps Pledge forms
Walton students during Prom week, March 13-17, signed the Youth Corps pledge to be drug and alcohol free not only on the night of prom but until they become of legal age. 452 students signed the Youth Corps membership form and will receive a confirmation letter from National Families in Action, http://www.nationalfamilies.org, along with a monthly electronic newsletter from the Parent Leader at Walton High School, Pat Giuliani. To find out more about Parent and Youth Corps membership forms contact pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 5:45 PM | Comments (205)
Youth Corps Membership Form
If your student did not sign a Youth Corps Membership form during our Prom Promise week of March 13-17, please download the form and fax or mail back to me the completed form. I will be generating a monthly teen newsletter to help your teen continue to live a safe and drug-free life.
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 5:35 PM | Comments (124)
Parent Corps Membership Form
Becoming a member of Parent Corps does not cost you any money. It does not call for you to attend monthly meetings, although, the educational programs offered at Walton High School will assist you with the raising of your teenager. Becoming a member does not mean you most be an officer in the group. Becoming a member does mean you will be educated on how drugs affect the developing adolescent brain, you will be educated to the fact that ALL children are at risk, you will understand that YOU are the most powerful influence in your childs' life, you will become a member of a large parent networking force that will work to help keep our teens alcohol and drug free. Becoming a member will help strengthen your family unit, strengthen the community as we become one voice working together, you will understand why we most stop the media marketing of drugs and alcohol to our teens and become an advocate for a drug-free environment. Download the membership form today and fax or mail the form back to me so I can add you to the already large number of Walton High School members. You will recieve bi-monthly electronic newsletters that will help keep you informed on the lastest and news things teens are getting into these days. Don't delay..... JOIN today!!!!
Download file
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 5:19 PM | Comments (2)
March 8, 2006
Parents Pivotal in Keeping Teens Away from Drugs
On February 28, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), held a press conference releasing new information that shows parents are a powerful influence in keeping their teens off drugs, away from alochol, and tobacco. Also the report says that 69% of teens say disappointing their parents is the reason why they are not doing drugs followed by 67.2% loss of respect from friends and family members. ONDCP also is teaming up with 16 other agencies to publish an "Open Letter" that highlights proven actions parents can take to help teens stay clean. The closing paragraph in this open letter states:
"Above all else, one of the most powerful things you can do for our teenager is to set a good example when it comes to drug, tobacco and alcohol use. Respect them, be honest with them, be clear with them and they'll do the same. Everyone Wins." Isn't that what we want for our children. A winning solution to stay drug and alcohol free. It starts in the home. Has it started in yours?????? Join Parent Corps today and let it begin. Contact pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 11:45 AM | Comments (3)
February 9, 2006
Contact Me
Pat Giuliani
Walton Parent Leader
pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org
404-409-9112
http://www.parentcorps.org
http://www.nationalfamilies.org
Assistant Parent Leaders
Sheila Keller, Gini Seely, and Ellen Ratchick
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 1:18 PM | Comments (5)