The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has released a substance use prevention campaign, “Talk. They Hear You.” that helps parents and caregivers start talking to their children early about the dangers of alcohol and other drugs. Read about the 5 conversation goals to have with your teens below.

Tip of the Week: Misusing prescription drugs can be harmful to your health and impact your participation in sports.

Only take medications that are prescribed to you and follow instructions from the doctor carefully. Prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs including sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs and cough and cold remedies can be harmful to your health if you don’t take the medication as directed. Do not take any medications that are prescribed to someone else, side effects can include nausea, dizziness, loss of appetite or even vision loss.

Worried someone you know is using substances or might have a substance use disorder? Check out this infographic from SAMHSA about how to start a conversation. It isn’t always easy but these talking tips can help!

SAMHSA encourages parents to talk with their college-bound young adults about alcohol use. If you are a parent, a high school or college administrator, or an organization serving parents and teens, please download these free materials and share them with other caring adults.

Thank you to Dr. John Duffy who helped us host a virtual community forum held on September 24th. The author of “Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety” highlighted tips from his book and provided support for talking with teens during COVID-19 about their concerns and stress. No video is available for this session, so take a listen!