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  Free To Grow
  Mailman School
  of Public Health
  Columbia University
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NOTE: as of April 17, 2007, the Free to Grow program has closed.
Research & Policy

Parenting for prevention: How to raise a child to say no to alcohol/drugs
David J. Wilmes

Parents are the most influential source of knowledge, appropriate skills, and behavior for children. The growing complexities of our culture make the teaching of life skills to children especially important. The author's goal is to educate parents, teachers, and other concerned adults in how to help children make appropriate choices regarding ATOD.

The guide explains the circumstances that lead young people to use drugs and recommends that parents and adults offer a consistent and unified set of expectations to children to encourage life skills. Expressing and processing emotions is a key skill, especially for healthy decision-making, and communication and refusal skills are also necessary. Often, for young people having difficulty identifying their feelings, ATOD offers an attractive escape. Guidelines for parenting include establishing effective limits and consequences, nurturing a sense of family connection, and creating a safe home environment. Adult modeling is also central to child development. The author also discusses the special concerns when a parent is involved with or recovering from ATOD abuse. Children of substance abusers are at greater risk of ATOD use themselves because of exposure to their parents' drug abuse. For these children, the addictive biological reaction to chemicals, plus the pain of growing up with an addicted parent, may be numbed by using ATOD.

Johnson Institute Books
7205 Ohms Lane
Minneapolis, MN 55439
(800) 231-5165 or (612) 831-1630
Fax: (612) 831-1631
(1988, 197 pp.; $12.95 + $5.50 p/h)





 

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Free To Grow is a national program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation with direction and technical assistance provided by the Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University.