Leandra

Nov. 18, 2009

Leandra's law passed in New York making it a felony to drive drunk with a child in the vehicle. Leandra was just 11 years old when her friends mother flipped her car killing Leandra. Young people that drink often do become adults that that drive drunk. Not all the time, but a lot of the time.

Another case out of New York that caught the world's attention was that of a mother driving impaired killing herself and three other adults and four children. We received a ton of calls about women and drunk driving following this horrific crash. It is important to know that often these things don't just happen but rather there are patterns of early drinking and impairment that go unchecked and could result in future destruction of families.

As a parent of three girls, I too want to make sure they understand it is about drinking underage and it is about all of the other problems that often stem from that later in life. While this article in TIME is a bit dated, it still rings true today. I have some time before the girls are in high school but my husband and I are committed to protecting them and guiding them to make smart choices.

Family dinner--do you eat with your kids?

This interesting fact just came in an email:

Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five or more per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are more than one and a half times likelier to use alcohol? This according to the Importance of Family Dinners V, a new report by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.

It seems like common sense that if you eat with your kids, they'll be less like to use alcohol. But, we all get so busy with work, school, sports, church/synagogue that sometimes....OK many times for some families....it is just easier to drive through. If that is how it works in your family, don't despair. You can still talk to your kids about underage drinking in the car. Use the conversation starters that are on www.thepowerofparents.org to give you some hints.

With my own daughter, I found that time driving in the car with her was the best time to talk. She often told me things that were really bugging her or going on in her life while we were driving somewhere. Just be sure to turn off the TV/game system if you have one of those in your car so you have his/her full attention. Pop chats, as I like to call them, can be very effective.

Challenges

November 2, 2009

So, my 5 nearly 6 year old daughter has a mind of her own. The only problem is she influences her little sister, often into doing things I don't want them to do. The older daughter says she forgot, or didn't hear me and quickly heads down the street and out of our front yard nearly out of view with little sister in tow. She is adventurous but doesn't understand what could happen and as I call for her to return she sees she is in trouble. All of this to say, she is nearly six, but won't I deal with same kind of thing the older she gets, say 13, 15, etc? According to this Wall Street Journal blog, she could become a great leader because of her pushing boundaries attitude. My goal as a parent and mom is to make sure they all know they are loved. In trying to find ways to discipline and show them love the way they'll respond and hear, I want to figure these things out now so when the challenges of growing up for them increase in difficulty (like a video game), they'll turn to my husband and I versus just their peers.