How To Keep Your Kids Drug Free and Alcohol Free

Studies have shown that there are certain things parents can do to prevent their children from getting on drugs and drinking.
  Preventing underage drinking is as easy as 1-2-3!  Here are the ideas:
1.  Start early and stay involved.  Monitoring your children's online activities is easiest when you establish policies and expectations early.  There is a tendency to get less involved as they become older but teens need their parent's help to stay alcohol and drug free.
2.  Develop a strong relationship with your child.  Research shows that family conflict and a weak parent/child bond increases a child's risk of drinking.  Bonding can be as simple as going out and having fun together.  Listen to your child's concerns.  Studies suggest that even making the effort to eat dinner as a family five times each week reduces the chance that a child will us alcohol or drugs by as much as 33 percent!!!  Eat dinner together.
3.  Set clear and precise boundaries.  Parent's disapproval is the number one reason why teens say they don't drink.  When parents set clear rules about not using alcohol, kids usually follow them.  Kids need to know the dangers of drinking and taking drugs.  They need to know that there are serious consequences for breaking the rules.
4.  It is important to monitor you children's friends and where-abouts.  Be involved on a daily basis.  Know what is going on in their lives.  Having friends who drink or us drugs is the single greatest risk factor for underage drinking.  As a parent, it is imperative to know whom your child is friends with!  You need to know what they are doing!  You need to be the guardian of the hearth!!!!  Make it a habit to ask questions as your child leaves the house.  You need to make it clear that if their are drugs or alcohol at a friend's party, they are to leave and come home!
5.  Make it clear that if there is alcohol or drugs at a party, LEAVE!!!!  Keep their social environment alcohol and drug free!!!!  More than 67% of young people who start drinking before the age of 15 will try an illicit drug.  Children who drink are 7.5 times more likely to use an illicit drug, 22 times more likely to use marijuana and 50 times more likely to us cocaine than children who never drink!!!
Research shows that half of Utah parents don't know that underage drinking increases the risk of alcohol-dependence.  If a child at age 13 drinks, he/she will have a 45% chance of alcohol-dependence.  If a child drinks at age 17, he/she will have a 26% chance of alcohol dependence.  If a kid drinks at age 21, he/she will have a 7% chance of alcohol dependence.
STUDIES SHOW THAT KIDS ARE MORE AT RISK FOR DRINKING ALCOHOL BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 3:00pm AND 6:00 pm WHILE PARENTS ARE STILL AT WORK.