Working Together: A Coalition for Safe and Healthy Communities is a group of people that work together to prevent and reduce the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs with our youth in Pine River and Backus.
We encourage parents to set clear rules and boundaries and to talk with their teens about not using alcohol. While parents may believe they have no impact on their teens' behavior, teens consistently cite their parents as the most powerful deterrent to drinking illegally.
The good news? Your teens want you to talk to them. Seventy-four percent of Pine River-Backus Middle and High School students think parents and other adults should clearly communicate with their children the importance of not using alcohol and other drugs.*
April is Alcohol Awareness Month. Use this opportunity to have the discussion with your teen about alcohol. The conversation doesn't need to be a formal one, try using "what if" questions to get the conversation started. Remind them that not all kids drink, in fact most choose not to. Results from a survey given to Pine River-Backus 7-12 graders show that 76 percent of youth do not drink in a typical month.*
And as parents, know that most parents in Pine River-Backus support the decision to not serve alcohol in their homes. 86 percent of Pine River-Backus Middle and High School students say their parents do not allow them or their friends to drink alcohol at home.*
What else can you do? Take the pledge. Become a Safe Home Parent. Working Together: A Coalition for Safe and Healthy Communities encourages the parents of our communities to register in the Safe Homes Directory to proudly proclaim that you are doing your part in keeping teens from using alcohol.
By registering you can declare that your home is a safe home where youth will not have access to alcohol.
It's also an opportunity to connect with other parents who proudly proclaim that they will not give youth access to alcohol in their home. (Note: The signing of this pledge does not change your legal responsibilities, rather, it is meant to show your commitment to keeping all our children safe.)
For more information on how to talk to your teen about alcohol or to register in the Safe Homes Directory, visit our Web site www.prbatod.org. For more information on keeping our teens safe contact Kelly Felton at (218) 587-4292.
The Pine River-Backus ATOD Program is funded through a grant from the MN Dept of Human Services, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division. Most of Us is a registered trademark of Montana State University.
*Data taken from the Most of Us Student Survey given to Pine River-Backus 7-12 grade students in February 2008.
