Teaching kids to stay away from drugs and alcohol should begin at young age

“How was your day at school?” the better the odds that their children will make smarter choices.

One way to do this is to talk about drug and alcohol use around the dinner table, suggests Vuolo.

“Starting that communication early in a child’s life will make it much more likely that that line of communication remains open, as the child gets older, to talk about things like substance abuse,” Vuolo says.

Whether it’s done over a meal, in the car on the way to school, or any other familiar setting, parents should be direct and factual when discussing drugs and alcohol.

“It’s important that we don’t give kids bad information that’s hyperbolic,” says Dr. Nordstrom.

“Scare tactics can backfire. We really want to make sure kids are getting information that’s true, not overblown, is honest and helps them make informed choices about what they want to do in terms of their own use of substances,” he says.

Parents shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions — and to be willing to accept that they don’t have all the answers. Relying on expert sources, such as the NYS OASAS Talk2Prevent online portal (talk2prevent. ny.gov), can help mom and dad find answers and figure out ways to keep the conversation flowing.