Surviving the Teenage Years:
PTA Council Information & Tips for Parents of Teens

16 Tips for Busy Parents To Help Raise Healthy & Safe Teens

1.    Make it clear that it is NOT OK with you for your teen to experiment with alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. Set clear and consistent “no use” rules. Share the facts and the consequences of use.
2.    Have daily conversations with your teen. Use every day opportunities such as watching TV together, to start a dialogue about topics like drinking, drug use and sex. Discuss different ways to resist peer pressure to smoke, drink or use other drugs.
3.    Eat meals together with your children and talk – as often as possible – without the TV on.
4.    Set a positive tone, avoid judgments and accusatory language. Listen, discuss, ask questions. Focus on the positive:  instead of criticizing, praise special talents and nurture interests.
5.    Wake your child up in the morning and make sure they get to school.
6.    Know where your child is after school and on weekends. Check that they are where they said they would be. Beware of sleepovers – teens will migrate to homes where they have the most freedom and the least supervision.
7.    Make sure an adult is home when your teen goes to a friend’s house after school. When your teen is invited to a party, call the home and speak to the parents or adult chaperones. Make sure they will be there and that no alcohol will be served (call, no matter how much your teen hates you to do it.)
8.    Keep unsupervised time to a minimum. Get your teen involved in supervised, positive group activities. Encourage other adults to be involved in your teen’s life as well.
9.    Monitor teen media (music, videogames, websites like Facebook & MySpace, TV and texting.)  Keep the computer in a common area in the house.
10.    Establish rules about the people your teen can be with. Get to know your teen’s friends and their families. Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to say “NO.” Your teen is not your friend. He/She is your child.
11.    Set firm rules, clear limits and consequences to breaking them. If you establish a consequence or punishment for misbehavior, stick to it. Don’t allow your teen talk you out of it.
12.    Warn your teen never to drive or get into a car with a driver who has been drinking, smoking marijuana or using other drugs.
13.    Keep track of and lock up unused prescription pain medications (eg. Percocet, Oxycodon) in your home.  Monitor ADHD medications (eg. Adderall, Ritalin.) Teens are abusing these medications to get high.
14.    Do fun things together, not just homework, chores and errands. Help your teen deal with stress. Involve your teen in a weekly family, social or religious activity.  Talk with your teen about their hopes and dreams for their future.
15.    Set a good example by demonstrating the values and healthy lifestyle you want for your teen. Avoid coming home after a stressful day and saying in earshot of your teen, “I had a bad day – I really need a drink” (and then drinking beer, wine or hard liquor.)
16.    Talk to other parents and professionals who work with teens. Visit websites - eg. www.theantidrug.com, www.drugfree.org and www.timetotalk.org.  Attend programs for parents and read educational materials about teen drinking and drug abuse. 
Parents are the most powerful influence on teens when it comes to drinking and drug use.
Not friends. Not school. Parents. You.

Source:  HC DrugFree
For more information, contact Laura Smit, M.P.H., Executive Director
www.hcdrugfree.org
Tel: 443-325-0040
10451 Twin Rivers Rd., Suite 404, Columbia, MD 21044