Youth Council makes recommendations to parents on underage drug and alcohol abuse
Ten junior and senior high school students from the Plumas County Youth Council gave a presentation to the board of supervisors May 2 on how to help prevent underage drinking and teen abuse of drugs.
The title of the PowerPoint they presented was “Access to alcohol and prescription drugs from a youth perspective.”
The presentation was targeted largely to parents to help them keep their teens away from alcohol and drugs.
The Youth Council is made up of two social groups: “Friday Night Live” for high school students and “Club Live” for junior high students.
The clubs are a partnership between Plumas County and students to both nurture youth leadership and encourage healthy teen lifestyles throughout the county.
Chapters are found in all public high schools in the county. Chapters meet during lunch and are open to all seventh- through 12th-grade students. Students are welcome to join at any time of the year.
Updates on what the chapters are doing can be found on Facebook: “Plumas County Friday Night Live” and at “Instagram@PlumasCountyFNL.”
In addition, members of the Youth Council would like to invite “any and all” Plumas County residents to its Parent and Community Night on May 25. The event will be held at 6 p.m. in the Mineral Building at the Plumas-Sierra County Fairgrounds in Quincy.
Some things Plumas County teens say parents can do to help keep their teens away from alcohol and prescription drugs:
Lock up alcohol. Don’t put beer and other alcohol in refrigerators making it easy for teens to grab as a “midnight snack.”
Prescription drugs should be tallied and locked up. Teens may think that since prescriptions come from a doctor, they must be safe and are OK to use to make you feel better.
Prescriptions should be properly disposed of when they are no longer needed.
Teens should know:
The National Institute of Health has determined that alcohol consumption during adolescence may interfere with normal brain functioning during adulthood.
The younger a person starts drinking alcohol, the more likely they are to become addicted to alcohol or drugs.
Long-term addiction to alcohol or drugs can have severe social, physical and mental effects later in life.
Unsafe sex is more likely to happen when one is drinking or using drugs, possibly resulting in unwanted pregnancies and the spread of venereal diseases.
Parents should know:
How the media is influencing your teen and how to help your teen critically evaluate the messages he or she is receiving.
That teens often post pictures of themselves with alcohol and drugs on social media, e.g. on Instagram, in order to look cool and be accepted by others.
That the number one protective factor against teen alcohol abuse and other risky behavior is a strong parent-teen relationship.
The importance of setting clear and reasonable boundaries for their teens.
Who their teen’s friends are and to get to know their friends’ parents
They should do things with their teens, like family outings, game nights or just hanging out.
Families should share meals together without outside distractions.
They need to be good role models. Parents should try to be the type of person they want their teen to be.
Very good stuff! We now know that the number one predictor of addiction is the age of onset, someone who starts drinking or using at 13 has a 50/50% chance of addiction, at 21, less than a 10% chance!