Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Gay Activists Rally Ahead Of Boy Scouts' Ban Vote
How Long Did Neanderthals Nurse? Old Tooth Yields Answer
Home drug testing kits sent home at school open house
Filed under: Teens, Health & Safety: Babies, Nutrition: Health, Development/Milestones: Babies, Day Care & Education
Parents who have children at Winnisquam Regional Middle School in Tilton, New Hampshire will have the opportunity to pick up more than just class schedules at the school's upcoming open house night. Home drug testing kits will be available to any and all families that are interested. The open house, to be held on September 21, will have enough drug testing kits to supply over 430 students, should their parents feel so inclined to take them home.Drug use at the middle school is no higher than that of surrounding areas which is why proponents for the kits say they are needed. According to the school's drug counselor, by taking the kits home families are taking a stance and saying they won't tolerate drug use in their children. The children are proving their abhorrence to illegal substances by producing clean test. Kids can also use the kits as a scapegoat to help them say no to drugs,they can claim, "I can't because, you know, my family drug tests at home,'" says Dave Tryon, the school district's substance abuse coordinator. "That gives the child a way out. And anytime you can give a child a way out of doing something risky, I can't see something wrong with that."
While I can see Mr. Tryon's point, I have to wonder if this is the best approach to preventing drug use and abuse in children. To me it says, "I don't trust your words or your honor, but I will believe you if you produce a clean urine screen." How does that build trust between parents and kids? I don't in any way believe that my children will tell me the truth 100% of the time, but I do hope that if we have a foundation of trust and a bond of honor that my kids will come to me when it matters. What about you? Any thoughts?
Your<span>Voice</span>
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
Recently Asked
- The owner of the property or debit creditor can relieve the person(s) of the debt,(a employment position or (court) is not ownership
- While attempting to explain consider who your explaining to. building a government may seem like gilligan's island to a person that can't
- Using a foreign governement company to defend UNITED STATES OF AMERICA alot of .gov huh
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
Manchester School Teacher Arrested
Manchester police arrested a Manchester Central school teacher after reports of drug activity in her home. Two men were also arrested.
-
A Life Behind Bars: Transformation Through Education
Antoinne Murphy is serving a 25-year-to-life sentence for homicide at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. Murphy grew up in a middle class home in Flushing, Queens and attended private school. At 16, he says he headed down the wrong path and began selling drugs. Since his incarceration Murphy has obtained his bachelor's degree through Mercy College, and earned a Master's of Professional Studies from New York Theological Seminary.
-
Footage Shows Adam Lanza When He Was a Kindergartener
Video footage shows Adam Lanza with the white hat as his mother takes his hand while he's in the woods in Kingston, N.H., for a drug dog demonstration during a home movie years before he went on a killing spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
-
Man Accused Of Stashing Weapons & Drugs In Kids Room
A probation search revealed a cache of weapons and drugs at Stockton home on Gloria Drive – with the loaded handguns found in the dresser of a children's play room.
Two men were arrested in a north Stockton neighborhood, but the home owner wants to get the message out that the children living in the home were never in danger and that his son was never in a gang.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
9-02-2006 @ 12:06PM
thordora said...Ok, for some reason, this made me think of McCarthy. Wonder why....
The only stance families are taking is one of distrust, and the schools are playing into it, trying to tell parents they can't trust their own kids. What next, a test for who might skip class? Who might stand next to a smoker?
THIS bothers me the most though:
*The children are proving their abhorrence to illegal substances by producing clean test*
So, they're guilty unless they PROVE to you they're innocent. Nice.
Reply
9-02-2006 @ 12:17PM
Lynn said...I suppose I can see the point of guilty and proven innocent but are the other programs working? Kids are getting sneakier and sneakier. . . and much more creative in their means for getting a high. I don't know that these drug tests will help that or make the kids go to 'alternative' drugs for highs. . .glue sniffing etc.
Reply
9-02-2006 @ 12:40PM
san said...People we have to change the society. Sending home drug tests will only produce more positive drug tests in kids. This is going to require some real work to fix, or arrest before it gets any worse. The drugs are the symptom not the cause. No Child Left Alive ain't working.
Reply
9-02-2006 @ 1:46PM
Jill said...For those families for whom trust is already out the window, isn't this a practical alternative? I agree, strongly, that we have to start working on this problem (1) from a larger point of view, throughout our society, and
(2) from a smaller point of view, with our children when they're young and continuing until their adulthood
but, I'm not against using whatever means helps each family get control of the problem on their own level. If the threat of a drug test works, use it. I certainly know kids from open minded, good communicating families who have gotten mixed up with drugs. Don't assume it won't happen to your's.
Reply
9-02-2006 @ 1:53PM
thordora said...If the family is attempting to keep tabs on their children who already have shown that they are using, that's one thing (I still think there are better alternatives, but I can at least understand the motivation).
But to pass them out to parents at open house-"hey, we love to teach your kids, and here's a drug test in case Johnny is out back smoking the wacky tabaccy..." I just don't really like that. If I believe my child is doing drugs, and I don't think that talking to them will solve it, and that a drug test will, then I can go get one at the pharmacy, can't I?
I was under the impression that most schools are underfunded. I wonder how many textbooks these tests could have purchased, and how many kids these tests might actually save.
It just seems a little creepy and oppressive to me. And as a person who did a LOT of drugs as a teen, no test would have kept me from them. They were too much fun at the time. :P
Reply
9-02-2006 @ 1:57PM
Kristy said...This reminds me of the scene in "American Beauty", where the neighbor kid is forced to take monthly drug tests by his tyrranical father. He doesn't stop his drug use, he merely has someone else provide clean urine for him.
I have mixed feelings about this. I think it's a good idea in theory. Has the school prepared the parents what to do if the test comes back positive?
Reply
9-02-2006 @ 3:58PM
LS said...This line made me chuckle: Kids can also use the kits as a scapegoat to help them say no to drugs,they can claim, "I can't because, you know, my family drug tests at home,"
When I was a kid... it was my PARENTS who were the scapegoat... "I can't because, you know, my parents will KILL me!" That, and the fact that they raised me to know what drugs, alcohol and cigarettes were, and how bloody STUPID it is to do them.
Reply
9-07-2006 @ 3:29PM
Kim Hildreth said...Do any of you actually have teenagers or remember being one? Their job is to get by with whatever what they can, and the parents job is to thwart them until they acquite some common sense! Do you trust your child that they are spending the night with a friend, or do you occasionally check to make sure that they are telling the truth? Drug testing is simply another way of checking up. A parent that believes everything a teenager tells them is simply not parenting. Do you think that the parents whose kids are on drugs just somehow know it? Nobody thinks that it is "their kid".
By the time most parents can figure out that their kid is really on drugs, many of them are hooked on meth! Every day a parent tells me that they wish they had started testing sooner. Kim www.DrugTestYourTeen.com
Reply