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Parents & Caregivers

Drugs, alcohol & smoking en Español

Work on building a close relationship with your daughter. Talk to her every day and find out what's going on in her life. This will make it easier for her to come to you when she has a problem. Research shows that having a close relationship with your child makes her or him less likely to try alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes.

The resources in this section can help you talk to your daughter about alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. To get started talking, your daughter can take the quiz, Guess what's in a cigarette. Afterwards, sit down and talk to her about what she learned.

Featured articles

1. Girls Are Catching Up With Boys in Use of Illicit Substances and Alcohol
2. Kids and Alcohol
3. Kids and Smoking
4.  Suspect your Teen is Using Drugs or Drinking? A Brief Guide to Action for Parents (PDF - 259KB)
5. Talking to Your Child About Drugs

Web sites

1.  A Family Guide To Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy & Drug Free - This web site from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration was developed to support parents and other caring adults who are working to promote mental health and prevent the use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs among 7- to 18-year-olds.
2.  ClubDrugs.org - This Internet site is dedicated to providing reliable information on club drugs that are used by young adults at all-night dance parties such as "raves" or "trances," dance clubs, and bars. NIDA-supported research has shown that use of club drugs can cause serious health problems and, in some cases, even death. Used in combination with alcohol, these drugs can be even more dangerous.
3.   girlshealth.gov: Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking - We have created the girlshealth.gov section on drugs, alcohol, and smoking to help adolescent girls learn more about some of the unique health issues and social situations they will encounter during the teen years. This section provides information, resources, and links to help your daughter learn more about how to deal with situations that involve drugs, alcohol, and smoking.
4.  Hablemos en Confianza - This bilingual site contains articles about substance abuse and information on how to talk with children about alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs.
5.  StopAlcoholAbuse.gov - This Internet site is a comprehensive portal of Federal resources for information on underage drinking and ideas for combating this issue. People interested in underage drinking prevention—including parents, educators, community-based organizations, and youth—will find a wealth of valuable information here.
6. Don't Pass Gas. Take it Outside (Copyright © American Legacy Foundation) - This site encourages parents to not smoke in the house, car, or around their children. It provides a list of harmful secondhand smoke gases and printable materials that can be posted around the house to remind smokers to "take it outside."
7. Girl Talk: Choices and Consequences of Underage Drinking – Want to read what teenage girls have to say about drinking? Check out the "Girl Talk" blog where girls can register to post comments and read stories about how underage drinking has affected their lives.

Publications

1.   Got a Minute? Give It to Your Kid - This social marketing kit tackles teen tobacco use by providing information on how to talk with teens. Every day, 6,000 youth try cigarettes for the first time and one out of three smokers will die from the addiction. Preteens who report they regularly eat meals, follow a family calendar, and discuss free-time activities with their parents are less likely to smoke, and more likely to live longer, healthier lives.
   
   http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/tobacco_control_programs/campaigns_events/got_a_minute/parenting.htm
2.     Make A Difference: Talk to Your Child About Alcohol (PDF - 775) - This on-line booklet from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provides guidance to parents and caregivers on discussing alcohol issues with young people ages 10 to 14. Additional resources are also provided.
   
   http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/children.pdf
3.   Marijuana: Facts Parents Need to Know - This on-line publication provides tips for parents to help them address the issue of marijuana with their children. It also contains information on signs of use and long term effects.
   
   http://www.drugabuse.gov/MarijBroch/MarijparentsN.html
4.   Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking - This call to action, from the U.S. Surgeon General's Office, appeals to Americans to do more to stop America's 11 million current underage drinkers from using alcohol, and to keep other young people from starting. It lays out recommendations for government and school officials, parents, other adults and the young people, calling them to action to address the problem of underage drinking.
   
   http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/underagedrinking/
5.     Suspect your Teen is Using Drugs or Drinking? A Brief Guide to Action for Parents - Parents will want a copy of this valuable resource to take action if they suspect or know that their teen is using drugs. This 12-page brochure covers the challenges parents face, signs and symptoms to look for if they suspect their teen is using illicit drugs or drinking, suggestions for starting a discussion and what parents can do and say to keep their children drug-free.
   
   http://www.theantidrug.com/pdfs/resources/general/parents_brochure.pdf
6.   Talk with Your Child - Learn about how to talk with your child about alcohol use, substance abuse, and crisis management by visiting this web site that provides a list of resources for parents. It also links to the “15+ Make Time to Listen...Take Time to Talk” campaign.
   
   http://www.family.samhsa.gov/talk/
7.     Teens and Prescription Drugs (PDF – 229KB) - This report summarizes recent findings about prescription drug abuse among teens. It covers issues such as gender differences among teen abusers of prescription drugs, the types of drugs abused, and availability and accessibility of these drugs to teens.
   
   http://www.theantidrug.com/pdfs/TEENS_AND_PRESCRIPTION_DRUGS.pdf
8.   Tips for Parents on Keeping Children Drug Free - This publication contains information and resources for parents about what they can do to prevent their children from growing up to use drugs and alcohol.
   
   http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/involve/drugfree/index.html
9.     Tobacco Control Policies- Do They Make a Difference for Low Socioeconomic Status Women and Girls? Executive Summary (PDF – 8.2MB) - This Executive Summary highlights recommendations detailed in the report, Tobacco Control Policies: Do They Make a Difference for Low SES Women and Girls? The recommendations were developed by researchers, practitioners, and advocates who attended the 2005 meeting and consist of overarching methodological and measurement recommendations and other research actions that will increase our knowledge of how to reduce tobacco use among low SES women and girls.
   
   http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/tcrb/ses_women-girls_project/LowSES22807.pdf
10.     What's Your Anti-Drug? (PDF – 1.1MB) - This publication from the national campaign, "What's Your Anti-Drug?" shares the different hobbies, arts, and activities that are important to teens. Help your teen get involved so they don't choose drugs.
    
    http://www.mediacampaign.org/pdf/USATodaySup.pdf
11. Cough and Cold Medicine Abuse (Copyright © Nemours Foundation) - This publication provides information on cold and cough medicine abuse among adolescents. It explains why teens might abuse these over the counter drugs, how it can affect them, and what to look for if you suspect your child has a problem.
    
    http://www.kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?dn=girlshealth&lic=175&cat_id=171&article_set=34641&ps=104
12. Prescription Drug Abuse (Copyright © TheAntiDrug.com) - This internet site educates parents on prescription drug abuse and its increasing problem among today's teens. It contains information on why teens abuse prescription drugs, where they get them, what types they are using, and what parents can do about it.
    
    http://www.theantidrug.com/drug_info/prescription_drugs.asp
13.   Wasting the Best and the Brightest: Substance Abuse at America's Colleges and Universities (Copyright © The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University) (PDF – 4.1MB) - This report discusses the growing problem of college student substance use and abuse and the consequences, including academic problems, legal problems, addiction, risky sexual behavior, unintentional injury, and more. It explains why more college students are using and abusing illegal substances and what should be done to address this issue.
    
    http://www.casacolumbia.org/absolutenm/articlefiles/380-Wasting%20the%20Best%20and%20the%20Brightest.pdf
14.   Your Child Needs You! A Guide to Help Your Child Lead a Healthy, Drug-free Life (Copyright © Partnership for a Drug Free America) (PDF – 1.1MB) - This publication is a comprehensive tool for learning which drugs your child can be exposed to and how to spot if your child is using drugs or alcohol. This publication also offers tips on how to talk with your child and gives real life scenarios you both can learn from.
    
    http://www.drugfree.org/Parent/Resources/Docs/Pamphlets/parents_en/PWF_Pamphlet.pdf

Organizations

1.   National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, SAMHSA, HHS
   
   http://ncadi.samhsa.gov/
2.   Office of National Drug Control Policy, EOP
   
   http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
3.   Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
   
   http://www.samhsa.gov/
4.   Task Force on College Drinking, NIAAA, NIH
   
   http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/
5. Boys Town
   
   http://www.boystown.org/home.asp
6. Center for Young Women's Health
   
   http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/
7. Do It Now Foundation
   
   http://www.doitnow.org/
8. National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, The
   
   http://www.casacolumbia.org/templates/Home.aspx%3Farticleid%3D287%26zoneid%3D32

 

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Content last updated November 11, 2007

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