Forum Teaches Parents, Other Caregivers

Ways to Keep Children from Drugs

MOUNDSVILLE – The recent “Parent to Parent: A Dialogue on How to Talk to Your Children about Drugs” capped a monthlong effort by Marshall County Family Resource Network staff and members of the Marshall County Anti-Drug Coalition to bring an informational message to local adults.

The forum provided tips and a chance for parents, grandparents and caregivers to discuss how to open the line of communication about drugs and how to build the skills necessary for children to resist the lure of drugs and alcohol. It was held at the Calvary United Methodist Church in Moundsville.

“As a mother of three young children, I’m deeply concerned about the effects of drugs on our youth in Marshall County,” said Latrisha Whitelatch, substance abuse prevention director at the Marshall County Family Resource Network. “We were pleased that we were able to provide information to adults that will result in more conversations about drugs between parents and children. It will help in our efforts to reduce drug use here in Marshall County.”

Thursday night’s forum was preceded by a number of short presentations of the same material to parents groups throughout Marshall County over the past month. More than 120 parents were reached by these presentations. The forum and the presentations cap a multimedia campaign to increase the level of communications between children and the adults in their lives on the subject of drugs. It follows an October 2008 PRIDE survey that showed that the average first substance use among Marshall County youth was 11 and that 34% of Marshall County youth who use substances said their parents seldom or never talked to them about the dangers of drugs.

The Marshall County Family Resource Network offers a short presentation to community groups and others about how to talk to children about the dangers of drugs. To ask about a presentation to your group, please call the FRN at (304) 845-3300 or email marshallcountyspfsig@comcast.net.