Family Guide: Activities
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spacer Designed for parents and other adults involved in the lives of 7- to 18-year-olds, the Family Guide Web site emphasizes the importance of family, promotes mental health, and helps prevent underage use of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs.
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Start Talking Before They Start Drinking
Nearly 1 in 5 teens (4.5 million people) said that they use prescription medications to get high,1 and 1 in 10 (2.4 million people) said that they use prescription stimulants and tranquilizers to get high.2 Nearly two-thirds of teens report that prescription pain relievers are easy to find at home, in the medicine cabinet.3
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About conversation starters
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At a loss for words? Here are some suggestions. Use these questions to start a conversation, and feel free to adapt them based on the age of your child.




Do you think some kids deserve a hard time?

Do you have any friends who use tobacco?
What do you think about people who smoke or chew?
Do you ever plan to try tobacco products? Why?

What do you like best and worst about using the Internet?

Do you think the Internet has made our lives better since 'the old days' before it was invented?

What would you change, if anything, about the way the Internet affects our world today?

What needs to be done to make the Internet safer to use?

What advice would you give other parents about knowing what their kids are doing on the Internet?

If you could own any technology item, what would it be? Why? What would it help you do?

What pressures do you feel, and how do you deal with them? Do you know anyone who's always trying to get people to do something? Like what? Who usually goes along with these ideas?


How do you feel when you see somebody being bullied?

What makes it okay to make fun of the child everybody picks on?

What do you like best about yourself? What would you like people to know about you?

What would you like to do this summer vacation to make the most of your time away from school? What three things would be interesting to try? What about things that seem kind of silly or that 'no one else' is doing or that look too hard to learn?

Is there much cheating at school? How do kids cheat? Do your teachers watch carefully to catch students cheating? What happens to students at your school who are caught cheating? Do you know what plagiarism is?

What do you think is your greatest talent or ability? What would you like to try to do that you haven't had a chance to try?

Has anyone ever asked to copy your homework? What do you think when you see (or hear about) kids cheating? Are there times when it's okay to cheat in school?

More Conversation Starters

 

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Updated on 3/9/07