Lauderdale: 'Parents: The Anti-Drug' missing in action
Oops. Didn't want to hear that.
I went to a meeting for parents. The topic was "new fads and trends among young people." The event notice said "we will find out about new drugs and slang as well as ways to tell if a young person is in trouble."
I came home with a pamphlet with this motto: "Parents: The Anti-Drug."
That was the point of the meeting, held at 6 p.m. Monday at the St. Helena Island Library. The Beaufort County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Department wanted to help parents be better anti-drugs.
No parents came.
It was me, three people from the county department, the librarian and a friend of the librarian.
I guess all the parents already know about Triple C, skittling, Robo-tripping, pharm parties, skunk, purple haze, Spice, K2, bath salts, chronic, fire, cabbage, kush, trees, boom, chiva, keisha, hookahs, vaping, power hour, suck and blow, the choking game, anal intoxication, and beer-like beverages that pack four times the normal amount of alcohol. For chugging purposes, of course.
Maybe they're fully aware that the $50,000-a-year college experience they're providing for sweetheart also includes beer pong, flip cup, keg stands and maybe even tilting a bottle of vodka directly onto the eyeball.
Perhaps they have seen all this stuff, if not in person, through the joy of YouTube on the Internet. And they know all about it leading to dangerous driving and sexual activity.
Surely they know that the slang and hiding techniques changes hourly, and varies school to school and neighborhood to neighborhood.
It's a miracle anyone survives ages 17 to 24. It's the age of invincibility. And outrageous stupidity.
We were nuts when I was that age, I hate to say. But today's challenges seem stiffer. Drinks are stronger. Access is easier. Flavors are more inviting. They party more often. Parents are less attentive. And it starts early. The national averages for first-use go like this: Tobacco, 10; alcohol, 13; pot, 16.
No wonder the county department stresses prevention. It had already made one presentation that day at the county jail. And its staff was to speak to a large group of freshmen the next night at the University of South Carolina Beaufort.
No wonder the LowCountry Alliance for Healthy Youth was created a few years ago by Hilton Head Island and Bluffton parents stunned by the drug abuse and dangerous living in our community. Students and parents are involved.
If any parents had come to Monday's meeting, they would have learned some keys to success: educate yourself, communicate with your kids, have a cell phone policy, have clear rules and stick to them, safeguard your medications in the home, know your child's friends and their families, watch for changes in your child's behavior such as asking for more money, and don't be afraid to drug-test your child. And this: have dinner as a family at least once a week.
The pamphlet that calls parents the anti-drug is put out by the American Academy of Pediatrics. It's called "Navigating the Teen Years: A Parent's Handbook for Raising Healthy Teens."
It's available through the Beaufort County Alcohol and Drug Abuse Department.
But I guess you knew all that.
Follow columnist and senior editor David Lauderdale at twitter.com/ThatsLauderdale and facebook.com/david.lauderdale.16.
Related content:
- Teens speak out about substance abuse problems in Beaufort County, May 19, 2014
- LowCountry Alliance for Healthy Youth on Facebook
- Drug guide for parents: Learn the facts to keep your teen safe (Use the popout button to enlarge)
This story was originally published September 15, 2015 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Lauderdale: 'Parents: The Anti-Drug' missing in action."