To the Editor:
As the school year comes to an end, our children will be celebrating their new found freedom and many parents will be wondering what to do with that freedom. Swimming, bike rides, camping and fishing all come quickly to mind as favorite summer time activities. Parents, however, need to be ever mindful of what their child/teen chooses to do, where they choose to be and with whom they choose to be with. Unsupervised time can be a prime time for alcohol, tobacco and other drug experimentation.

There are two new products being marketed for adult use that have appeal to our children and youth. And unfortunately, these products have serious health consequences.

Aclopops are sweet, fizzy alcoholic drinks with bright, flashy packaging that appeal to children because they don’t taste like alcohol. Alcopops are starter drinks for kids. Of the eighth graders who drink, 77 percent report they drink alcopops.

Dissolvable tobacco products designed to look like a mint, a toothpick for melt away breath freshener are being test marketed in central Ohio. Smokeless tobacco appeals to children and teens because it is packaged to look like candy or gum, has kid-friendly flavors and leaves no evidence behind. These products may result in more first time tobacco users.

What is a parent to do? Monitoring your child is an effective way for you to help your child stay drug free. Remember these four core rules:
1, Know where your child is at all times. Make sure he/she knows you’re asking out of love, not because of a lack of trust.

2. Get to know all of your child’s friends personally. Know their faces and their voices.

3. Find out how your child plans to spend his/her day.

4. Limit the time your child spends without adult supervision. Greater peer pressure or boredom lead to alcohol or drug use.

For more information on alcohol, tobacco and other drug prevention, contact Takin’ It To The Schools at Personal and Family Counseling Services at 330-343-8171 or visit The Partnership for a Drug-Free America website at www.drugfree.org.

Frances Gerbig
Coordinator, Takin’ It To the Schools
Personal and Family Counseling Services

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