PowerTalk 21 Day

Last week, parents around the country started the conversation on PowerTalk 21™ day—the national day to talk about kids an alcohol. MADD hosted national events in Dallas, New York and San Diego as well as local events in cities and towns across the country. Congress made it official by passing a resolution deeming April 21 as PowerTalk 21 day.

I have a 20-year-old daughter of my own, and I know how hard this topic can be. Kids don’t come with instruction manuals. That’s why MADD developed the Power of Parents, It’s Your Influence™ handbook. It provides valuable insights into teens and tips on communicating about a tough topic in a way that can reduce your child’s risk of drinking by up to 30 percent. I’ve used it myself and trust me…it’s worth downloading (which you can do here).

We’re also providing free parent workshops in cities across the country. I was lucky enough to host one in San Diego. The feedback was unanimously positive. Parents appreciated the help tackling this difficult topic. Click here to see if there is an upcoming workshop in your area.

If you missed PowerTalk 21 day, don’t worry. This can’t be a one time conversation. Parents need to talk about this important topic with their kids early and often. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood echoed these sentiments in his blog, reminding parents that “every day is a good day for starting that discussion.”

Check out some of our pictures from events across the country and mark your calendar for next year’s PowerTalk 21 on April 21, 2012! In the meantime, keep talking …

PowerTalk 21 is Today!

Today is the day...the day to start talking to your teens if you haven't already. Communities across the country are rallying to keep our teens safe from the drug that kills more youth than all other drugs combined--alcohol.

Raising a teen isn't easy and they don't come with instruction manuals. That's why MADD teamed up with Dr. Robert Turrisi of Penn State Univ to create the Power of Parents, It's Your Influence handbook. This handbook is easy to use and includes proven techniques to improve communications between parents and their teens, often resulting in a 30% reduction in underage drinking.

You can find a FREE 30 minute workshop in your area where you can attend and get started with the handbook. If there is not a workshop in your area, you can download the handbook at madd.org/powerofparents.

Thanks to Nationwide Insurance, our wonderful Presenting Sponsor, and the GM Foundation, our supporting sponsor, we are able to offer these tools at no charge. So, why not give it a try? You'll find the tips to talk (and listen) to your teens helpful...I know I sure did!

PowerTalk 21...it's time to talk!

The Univited Guest that Still Shows Up

They did what they were suppose to do. They uninvited alcohol and drugs to their daughter's graduation party but alcohol still showed up. Now, the parents are charged with hosting an underage drinking party versus a really, cool graduation party full of happy memories. Parents can start early and often talking to teens about alcohol but as the saying goes, "I'm not so worried about you, but I am worried about others," still holds true here. They thought they covered all bases and communicated no alcohol but it still showed up at their home. Do bouncers with breath test devices have to be hired to monitor and control graduation parties and other underage gatherings celebrating the end of a school year? I'm not sure where you find that in the yellow pages...maybe where you found clowns, makeup artists and bounce houses when they were little.

Are your kids sneaking into R-rated movies?

According to USA Today's Sharon Jayson, "Middle-schoolers who are forbidden to watch R-rated movies are less likely to start drinking than peers whose parents are more lenient about such films, new research on 2,406 children shows. Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School found that among those whose parents let them watch R-rated movies "all the time," almost a quarter had tried a drink without their parents' knowledge. That compares with barely 3% who tried a drink among those who were "never allowed" to watch R-movies."

What show are you going to see this weekend? What show is your pre-teen or teen going to watch?

Beach Blanket Bingo

Spring Break is here and many colleges have started spring break. Now, there are three sets of teens usually: 1) those in college 2) those working and 3) those in college and working. Studies prove those in college drink more. So what is a parent to do? You want your child to succeed, get a good job and have fun.

Tips for success:
1) don't equate drinking to having fun and the only way to have fun
2) know who your children hang around with
3) talk to them early about the dangers of drinking underage
4) limit exposure to some media that might romanticize spring break extravagance, including drinking games and sex-filled images.
5) talk to them early about dangers of underage drinking.

Checkout the movie Beach Blanket Bingo, if all else fails and remind teens Frankie and Annette never drank or had sex and there was a lot of dancing, singing and fun!

This Weekend

How many parties did your teen have a chance to go to this weekend where alcohol was served? Did you talk to them ahead of time and ask them to not go? Did they go and get drunk or tell their friends they don't like to drink? How does your teen deal with peer pressure? How do you deal with your teen's peer pressure problems? Running the other way won't help. Here's how to answer some of their tough questions.

Please call me if my college kid drinks

A recent article in The Washington Post highlights the need for parents to better understand what is going on with their adult-aged children in college. Underage drinking and parties seem par for the course for many college kids, but if they are under 21, they are not suppose to be drinking according to the law. Rather than look the other way, colleges see where problems continue to lurk when underage drinking runs rampant: bad grades, sexual assaults, injuries, etc. Now, many colleges will tell parents what their teens are up to in order for the parents to join forces with them to protect the youth. I suppose the adage, "you can run but you can't hide" comes to mind and teens should take note. I know I'd want my teen's college to call me if they were drinking. Sounds like a perfect bonding time conversation. Ideally, parents would heed the advice while teens are high school and check out www.thepowerofparents.org and get a jumpstart on setting the rules early for their kids.

Your shopping at a teen store, you need a flask, right?

Received a media call today from an outlet requesting comment about bedazzled flasks being sold at retail outlet aimed at older teens. I wasn't too surprised given we've received these calls quite a lot over the years, especially prior to prom and graduation. It's not bad enough that thousands of people are impacted by underage drinking each year and that it is illegal, but somehow making flasks available to those young teen girls hovering in the late teens and pre-21 range, seems like a good thing? Unfortunately, across America, flasks, shot glasses, shirts, and the like are marketing to youth. Enough already.

Boy Found in the Snow

This is a very sad and tragic story. Boy meets friends. Boy drinks with friends. He is 15 years old and somehow when friends drop him off at home, they say he goes in but father finds him off in snow and woods next morning nearly dead. Eventually, he dies. 15 years old...a rite of passage some say. Another reason providing alcohol to teens must stop.