While it’s a new week, I find myself reflecting on the one just past. My wife and I were at a wedding on Saturday. During the course of dinner conversation and questions about my work, I was asked by one mom if childhood drinking and drug use weren’t just “inevitable” and isn’t there really not much parents can do but try their best and hope everything comes out okay? I’m always struck by this line of thinking because it’s far too common. We don’t think of other health risks facing our kids as something for “best tries” and “hope,” we take action. So, naturally, I’m a contrarian on the “inevitable” point and there is science to back me up – research shows that kids who learn a lot about drugs at home are half as likely to use as kids who don’t learn at home. Yet, less than a third of kids report learning “a lot” at home from mom, dad or the caring adult in their life. So, my message to parents is that you can do this, it’s not about the big scary drug talk, but rather a series of small, frequent conversations beginning before your child enters middle school and continuing right through high school and into college. Your child needs to know where you stand. We have some good information for you on the Partnership’s web site and will be putting a whole lot more there in the coming months.

The week past was also a sad reminder that this is a uniquely human issue. And, regretfully, sometimes our kid’s experimentation or use does become a tragedy. I had the honor of spending two days with Gary Neil. Gary is a remarkable father from Tulsa who has turned the pain of losing his 17 year-old son Harrison to prescription drug abuse into a quest to get truly useful information into the hands of other parents. Like many good parents, the issue of intentionally abusing prescription medicines wasn’t on the radar screen. Last week Gary put himself on the line doing dozens of media interviews with me to announce a new web site we’ve created called www.notinmyhouse.com. The site has all the essentials every parent should see and know about this dangerous form of abuse that can happen in our own homes. You can also view a video from Gary and his daughter, Jordan, plus some great advice from a collection of experts. It will help you have one of those small conversations with your kids that are so important!

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  Posted by: Steve Pasierb