C.P.A. Overview
This brochure is an effort to reduce social problems involving youths in our community, in our schools, and in our homes.
In our society, it is no longer just a few deviant teens who use alcohol and drugs. Today it is often the teen who does not drink or take drugs who is made to feel left out. The misuse of alcohol and other drugs is widespread and touches all of us.
There are many pressures on our youth to use alcohol and other harmful drugs. The strongest pressure comes from the adolescent's peer group. Besides being aware of drug and alcohol use by singers, actors, and athletes, our youth are bombarded by television and other media messages that promote the use of chemicals to give pleasure and avoid pain. Some parents compound the problem by permitting underage children to drink in their homes, adding to the children's confusion about the acceptability of drinking.
Many parents who try to provide guidelines for their teens feel helpless. They sense that peer group pressures and society's temptations are a greater influence than their own parental guidance. It is tempting for parents to expect schools, churches, police, courts, and other community agencies to solve the teenage drug abuse problem, but in the final analysis, this is a problem that parents and all other concerned individuals and community agencies must solve together.
Teenagers deserve to live and grow in an environment where drugs and alcohol are not misused. Parents can encourage their children to talk openly about their alcohol and drug use questions and experiences. Parents can also set acceptable standards of behavior in such matters for their children and themselves.
Since drugs and alcohol frequently are used when teens socialize, this pamphlet is designed to help parents on those occasions. It is important to begin setting limits when your children are young and first begin making their own plans to get together with friends. Most of these guidelines apply to children of all ages. They may be restrictive for some families and permissive for others. Each family should consider the guidelines in the light of its own values and attitudes. If all of us seriously think about establishing reasonable standards such as these, it will help us in our community.
Some parents may hesitate to follow the guidelines because they fear they will be alone in their efforts. Others will need more information and help to cope with the problems of raising teenagers in today's society. To reduce feelings of isolation and to promote a healthy atmosphere for our youth, it is important for parents to come together to discuss our problems of parenting and to support and encourage each other.