ParentDish

'Incense' May Really Be Synthetic Marijuana

Tom Henderson — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Why does your room smell funny?

"Oh, we were just burning a little, uh, incense. Yeah, that's it. Just a little incense."

Riiight.

If your parents bought that one, you might want to be a little less naive when your own kids bring home a little "incense." Drug Enforcement Agency officials warn a product masquerading as incense is not the same green leafy substance you (or those kids you heard about in school) used to take home.

It is synthetic marijuana and apparently can cause medical problems well beyond the munchies and an intense fascination with one's own hands. Called Mad Hatter, the ersatz incense has been known to cause increased heart rates and hallucinations.

The Mansfield News Journal in Ohio reports it has become a problem in the central part of the state.

While Ohio lawmakers are trying to make it illegal, the newspaper reports kids are buying it faster than the state can outlaw it.

The News Journal reports Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a bill July 15 to make synthetic marijuana -- commonly known as Spice or K2 -- illegal to sell or possess, but the law doesn't go into effect until October.

Meanwhile, synthetic marijuana can be purchased at various convenience stores.

David Davis, director of an emergency services and trauma unit in Mansfield, tells the News Journal emergency personnel at the hospitals have seen several cases due to its use in the past few months.

"Patients are coming in agitated, vomiting, in seizures, paranoid or having hallucinations," he says. "The reactions are similar to those when ingesting the bath salts that seem to be on the rise."

Drugs marketed as bath salts also have caused a number of medical problems in the community. The state has banned them, too, but as with synthetic marijuana, it will take time for the law to go into effect.

Mad Hatter comes in green 3-gram packages, which are clearly marked "not for human consumption." The packages state the manufacturer is not responsible for misuse. Yet, that doesn't stop people.

"It makes people crazy," Marcel Casavant, of the Central Ohio Poison Control Center in Columbus, tells the News Journal. "We've seen them come in our emergency rooms agitated, their heart rates are spinning, they're vomiting, having hallucinations. Sometimes it takes sedatives to calm them down."

Casavant adds the stuff put one patient in a coma.

"We've not had any reported deaths, but I would say that this product may kill you," he tells the newspaper.

Related: Illegal Drugs Come Disguised as Bath Salts

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Binge Drinking More Damaging for Teen Girls Than Boys, Study Says

Lesley Kennedy — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Research Reveals: Teens

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Never mind getting sick, getting busted or getting hurt -- when teenage girls binge drink, they could be damaging their brains.

BBC News reports the brains of teen girls are especially prone to damage from alcohol, as their brains develop at an earlier age than guys, according to a study published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

In the study of teens ages 16 to 19 at American universities, researchers used MRI scans and found female binge drinkers -- those who drink more than four beers or glasses of wine in one sitting -- had less brain activation in a number of brain areas including memory and spatial awareness than female teens who didn't drink.

This could lead to issues when it comes to driving, playing sports, using maps or remembering how to get places, the BBC reports.

Teen guys who binge drank, however, didn't have the same issues, according to the study.

"Male binge drinkers showed some, but less, abnormality as compared to male non-drinkers," Susan Tapert, professor of psychiatry at the University of California and lead study author, tells the BBC. "This suggests that female teens may be particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of heavy alcohol use."

Stanford University professor Edith Sullivan tells the network female brains develop one to two years earlier than male brains.

"Hormonal levels and alcohol-induced fluctuations in hormones could also account for the gender differences," she tells BBC News. "Finally, the same amount of alcohol could more negatively affect females since females tend to have slower rates of metabolism, higher body fat ratios and lower body weight."

Permalink | Email this | Comments

ER Visits by Teen Boys Skyrocket During July 4 Weekend

Lesley Kennedy — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs

The Fourth of July holiday is upon us. Do you know where your teenage boys are?

If you're thinking a little freedom is in order for your kids on Independence Day, a new study may have you rethinking things.

ABC News reports visits by underage males to the emergency room are twice as high during the July 4 weekend than the rest of the month.

And it's not fireworks, but drinking that's too blame. Alcohol poisoning, drunk driving accidents and fights were the most common reasons for the visits, according to the network.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) report shows two-thirds of ER patients on July 3-5, 2009, were boys, ABC reports.

"This is a high-risk period for them," Dr. Pete Delaney, director of the Center for Behavioral Statistics and Quality at SAMHSA, tells the network. "The statistics were pretty striking for the holiday weekend period."

Girls, however, did not visit ERs more often during the holiday weekend, according to the study.

"The social reality is that most girls are probably not drinking as heavily as boys, and they're probably not getting into fights or even driving as much as boys," Delaney tells ABC.

He tells the network parents should have conversations with their children about drinking.

"Helping children stay safe around drugs and alcohol should be like booster sessions; it's not just a one-time thing," Delaney tells ABC. "Parents need to play a continuing role and set expectations."

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Report: 90 Percent of Addicts Started Using as Teens

Lesley Kennedy — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Research Reveals: Teens

The teen years are a time when addiction is especially possible, because adolescent brains are more sensitive and teens are more apt to experiment. Credit: Getty Images

Sorry, parents, but drug use among many teens is not just a passing phase.

A new report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) shows 90 percent of addicts in the U.S. began taking drugs, smoking or drinking alcohol in high school, ABC News reports.

"We now have enough science to show that adolescent substance use is America's no. 1 public health problem," Susan Foster, senior investigator of the study, tells the network. "By recognizing this as a health problem and responding to it, we can actually make the difference by improving the life prospects of teens and saving costs in society."

Experts tell ABC the teen years are a time when addiction is especially possible, because adolescent brains are more sensitive and teens are more apt to experiment.

"The brain is still developing up until age 25, so when you put nicotine and psychoactive substances in the body, it's actually messing with the brain as it's developing," Dr. Stanton Glantz, director of the University of California at San Francisco Center for Tobacco and Research and Education, tells the network. "Nicotine tends to be the gateway drug when kids start smoking younger. They're more likely to become addicted and smoke for a longer period of time."

Glantz continued to say that smoking creates permanent changes in the brain. When a person quits, some of those changes reverse, but never completely. Researchers also know that tobacco, alcohol and other drugs act similarly in the brain, so that the use of one substance heightens the risk of dependence on others.

Foster tells ABC teens should be screened for family addiction and mental health histories.

"We need to ... ask questions and intervene and understand what circumstances exist in the family, including mental health conditions, history of addiction and eating disorders," she tells the network.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Antipsychotics Have Dramatic Consequences in Kids, Study Shows

Tom Henderson — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Health

Children can experience dramatic weight gain and insulin resistance just weeks after taking the drugs for the first time. Credit: Getty Images

Careful with the crazy pills.

Doling out antipsychotic to kids for the first time can be a case of the cure being worse than the disease.

Researchers found children can experience dramatic weight gain and insulin resistance just weeks after taking the drugs for the first time, Medscape.com reports.

Lead researcher, John W. Newcomer, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Miami, tells Medscape that prescribing antipsychotics has become trendy in the past 15 years or so -- even though there is no sudden epidemic of schizophrenia in children.

"The increase was due to the rising use of antipsychotics for disruptive behavior disorders," he says.

In other words, your kid acting a little hyper? Bomb him with meds.

Newcomer led the study while he was at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Mo. Researchers studied 125 kids who were prescribed Aripiprazole, Risperidone or Olanzapine for behavior problem. Newcomer admitted kids were less aggressive and irritable on the drugs.

"They got a lot better," Newcomer tells Medscape. "I was actually stunned at how much better they got. It gave me some margin of sympathy that I didn't have before for why the child psychiatrists and the pediatricians are using so much of these drugs."

But at what cost?

Kids who participated in the study showed significant weight gain and their bodies became less receptive to insulin. Their body fat shot up an average of 8.98 percent while their sensitivity to insulin decreased by an average of 3 percent.

"There was quite a bit of variability among the treatments in terms of increased fat, but just about everybody sloped upwards," Newcomer tells Medscape.

Kids on Olanzapine plumped out the most, he adds. The weight gain with Risperidone and Aripiprazole was much less.

The moral of the story for parents?

"If you have to use antipsychotics, with the emphasis on the 'have to,' then you want to pick the agents with the lower risk for metabolic outcomes," Newcomer recommends.

To view the original article on Medscape, click here to login.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

'Footloose' for Real: Nova Scotia High School Bans Dances

Tom Henderson — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs

Even the hero of "Footloose" might not be able to get school officials at Sydney Academy to kick off their Sunday shoes. Credit: Amazon

A small-town high school has banned dances?

This looks like a job for ... Kevin Bacon! Quick! Call the Bacon phone! Send up the Bacon Signal!

Unfortunately, even the hero of "Footloose" might not be able to get school officials at Sydney Academy in Nova Scotia, Canada, to kick off their Sunday shoes. The Toronto Sun reports they didn't ban school dances for religious reasons -- students at the dances were getting drunk and turning violent.

Principal Kevin Deveaux tells the Sun he's seen drunk and rowdy teens before, but things got way out of hand last week.

"It really was scary," he says.

A large number of kids showed up drunk or high on drugs, he tells the newspaper. Fights allegedly broke out everywhere. One kid punched another in the face and broke his nose.

Police outside the dance broke up what was about to be a major brawl, Deveaux tells the Sun.

"If we didn't have cruisers there, that could have been very ugly," he says.

The Sun reports 25 to 30 of the 600 students at the dance were suspended, and some even went home in the backs of squad cars. Deveaux tells the newspaper there were a lot more students who were drunk or high who didn't get busted.

Even though there were four police officers, six security guards and 15 to 20 chaperones at the dance, he adds, "it still wasn't enough."

Deveaux tells the Sun the problem is that parents and society in general have become far too permissive of underage drinking, and students don't suffer enough serious consequences for their actions.

"I think there's an increasing attitude from parents that kids are going to drink when they're not legally able to. A large percentage of kids drink, and the other thing is they drink and come to the dances because they don't see any consequence," he adds. "They're not often charged. At most they get a suspension from school, and this being the last dance of the year, they start to think, 'Well, what's the worst that could happen to me?' The most we can do is a five-day suspension."

So, no more dances. Period.

"It's not safe," Deveaux tells the Sun. "It's not educationally sound. Who in their right mind would endorse that activity?"

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Gay Teens Engage in Destructive Behavior, CDC Reports

Tom Henderson — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Relationships

Gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers are more likely to engage in self-destructive behavior. Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Being a gay teenager can often be anything but gay.

Gay teenagers are routinely harassed, bullied and ostracized, as we've often seen in the news. And then there are their own emotional conflicts and doubts piled upon the usual adolescent angst.

It is no wonder that a study, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, concludes that gay, lesbian and bisexual teenagers are more likely to engage in self-destructive behavior -- smoking, drinking, illegal drugs, unprotected sex and attempted suicide -- than their straight peers.

The new study is based on data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, Time magazine reports. The surveys were conducted from 2001 to 2009 among high school students in New York City, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Milwaukee and San Diego.

Teens were asked about everything from whether or not they used heroin to whether or not they buckled their seat belts.

"This report should be a wake-up call," Dr. Howell Wechsler, the director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, tells Time. "We are very concerned that these students face such dramatic disparities for so many different health risks."

A cause of these risky behaviors is a lack of safe and supportive environments, according to the Advocate, a gay publication.

CDC officials call for state and local governments to take action, such as creating gay-straight alliances.

Better information is also needed, the Advocate indicates. In 2009, the last year the survey was taken, only 10 states and seven large school districts asked whether students were gay or bisexual.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Facebook Party Spins Out of Control

Associated Press — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Weird But True, Alcohol & Drugs, Media, Funny Stuff

A teenage girl in Germany who forgot to mark her birthday invitation as private on Facebook fled her own party when more than 1,500 guests showed up. Credit: AP

BERLIN (AP) - Better check your Facebook settings before posting a party invitation online.

A teenage girl in Germany who forgot to mark her birthday invitation as private on Facebook fled her own party when more than 1,500 guests showed up and around 100 police officers, some on horses, were needed to keep the crowd under control.

Eleven people were temporarily detained, one police officer was injured, dozens of girls wearing flip-flops cut their feet on broken glass and firefighters had to extinguish two small fires at the 16th birthday party in Hamburg, police spokesman Mirko Streiber said Sunday.

The birthday girl, identified only as Thessa, went into hiding, Streiber said, but "nonetheless the party was a hit."

Thessa had initially only wanted to ask some friends over to her home in Hamburg-Bramfeld when she posted her invitation on Facebook, but mistakenly she published it so that everyone on Facebook could see it.

The invitation quickly went viral, and some 15,000 people confirmed online they would come to the party - without even knowing the girl, weekly paper Bild am Sonntag reported.

When Thessa's parents found out, they made their daughter cancel the party, informed police and hired a private security service to protect their home on Friday night.

Despite public announcements in Hamburg that the party had been canceled, some 1,500 teenagers and young adults showed up on the street in front of Thessa's home, Streiber told The Associated Press.

"We had cordoned off the house, some 100 police were on the ground, four of them on horses - but that did not keep the kids from celebrating," Streiber said.

Some revelers held up signs asking "Where is Thessa?" others brought birthday presents and homemade cake, there was lots of alcohol and the crowd chanted again and again, "Thessa, celebrating a birthday is not a crime," - in obvious relation to the massive police presence, Bild reported.

The police officer was injured when he tried to keep a party reveler from breaking off the Mercedes-Benz logo of his patrol car.

"It was sheer insanity but mostly peaceful," Streiber summed up the night with a laugh.

As for Thessa - she was nowhere to be seen. Police confirmed she "was not at home that night" and Bild reported that she celebrated quietly with her grandparents at an undisclosed location.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Kids With ADHD Face Greater Risk of Substance Abuse

Tom Henderson — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Special Needs

Your kids could have substance abuse problems if they have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Credit: Getty

Your child is one and a half times more likely to have problems with drugs and alcohol if he or she ...

Wow. Angelina Jolie only weighs 99 pounds now? That's insane. How does Brad feel about that?

Wait a minute. What we're we talking about? Something about drugs and alcohol. Oh, right. Your kids could have substance abuse problems if they have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Kids with ADHD are fidgety and easily distracted, but U.S. News & World Report says researchers still don't know how that relates to increased drinking and smoking. However, the link is undeniable.

"Our study, which is one of the largest set of longitudinal studies of this issue to date, supports the association between ADHD and substance abuse found in several earlier studies and shows that the increased risk cannot be accounted for by co-existing factors such as other psychiatric disorders or family history of substance abuse," lead author Timothy Wilens, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, says in a news release from Massachusetts General Hospital.

"Overall, study participants diagnosed with ADHD had a one-and-a-half times greater risk of developing substance abuse than did control participants," he adds.

Interesting. On the other hand, Wilens' statement was more than 60 words long. Anyone with ADHD quit reading after "longitudinal."

Wilens and his colleagues looked at data on behavioral and psychiatric problems in 268 kids with ADHD. They found nearly a third of them had substance abuse problems. A family history of drug problems wasn't a factor either, Wilens tells U.S. News & World Report.

"Anyone with ADHD needs to be counseled about the risk for substance abuse, particularly if they have any delinquency," Wilens says in the news release. "We still need to understand why some kids with ADHD develop substance abuse and others don't, whether particular treatment approaches can prevent substance problems and how best to treat young adults that have both ADHD and substance abuse."

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

FDA Weighs New Dose Info For Kids' Pain Relievers

Associated Press — Tue, 17 May 2011 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs

The Food and Drug Administration meets next week to consider changes to children's over-the-counter formulas containing acetaminophen. Credit: Getty Images

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal health officials are considering adding dosing instructions for children younger than 2 years old to Children's Tylenol and similar products, a change favored by drugmakers and many doctors.

The Food and Drug Administration meets next week to consider changes to children's over-the-counter formulas containing acetaminophen, the most common pain reliever and fever-reducing ingredient. While safe when used as directed, acetaminophen has long been subject to warning labels because of its potential to cause liver damage when overused.

Next week's meeting will focus on a small group of liquid medicines, including Children and Infants' Tylenol, Triaminic, Little Fevers and various drugstore brands. These products have never contained dosing information for children younger than 2 to encourage parents to seek medical attention for sick infants. Fever in children younger than six months can be associated with dangerous infections, like meningitis and pneumonia.

In documents posted Friday, the FDA said it will ask an outside panel whether that policy should be changed. An analysis by the agency showed that the majority of acetaminophen overdoses in children are in those younger than 2. FDA staffers said the most common causes for the problems include: parents misreading dosing information, giving an adult formula to a child or using a spoon or other administration device instead of the cup included with the formula.

The FDA will also consider requiring weight-based dosing instructions alongside age-based instructions on packaging, along with a universal measuring cup for all children's formulas. Nearly all manufacturers have already taken those steps voluntarily, but an FDA regulation would make them mandatory.

The lack of instructions for the youngest children - an FDA requirement since the 1950s - is intended to point parents toward professional advice, but some experts say it causes more confusion and stress than anything else.

"I don't know if it worked 30 years ago - I doubt it - but it certainly doesn't work today because you can't get your doctor on the phone," said Dr. Richard Dart, president of the American Association of Poison Control Centers. "It places this enormous burden on parents and caregivers because they don't know what to do."

Dosing errors with children's acetaminophen products accounted for 2.8 percent, or 7,500, of the 270,165 emergencies reported to poison centers last year, according to Dart's group.

Johnson & Johnson and other manufacturers will point out next week that all other drug ingredients approved for children, including ibuprofen, already carry dosing information for children younger than 2.

Currently parents can get acetaminophen dosing information for babies through a doctor, pharmacist or various educational websites.

"It's available almost everywhere besides the product label, and this is simply another location for parents to find it when they need it," said Barbara Kochanowski, vice president for regulatory affairs at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association. The trade association will represent the over-the-counter medicine industry at next week's meeting. Member companies include J&J, Novartis, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and makers of generic cold medicines like Perrigo Co.

Last week the group took the voluntary step of eliminating infant drops of acetaminophen drugs. For decades the industry marketed high-dose infant formula, usually delivered with a dropper, so that parents could give babies a smaller amount of liquid. But starting later this year manufacturers will switch all infant formulas to the same dosage used in children's acetaminophen products. They will also replace the dropper with a syringe, which is thought to be a more accurate measuring device.

Those actions and others are expected to gain support from medical groups presenting next week, including the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"If there are data out there to support ways we can make these products safer and easier to use, the academy will support that," said Dr. Daniel Frattarelli of Dearborn, Mich., who chairs the academy's drug committee.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. This article was written by MATTHEW PERRONE, Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Teens on Facebook More Likely to Drink Than Their Non-Social Networking Peers

Lesley Kennedy — Thu, 12 May 2011 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Teens, In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Media, Teen Culture, Behavior: Teens

Teens who drink alcohol spend more time on the computer for fun -- listening to music and updating their online profiles -- than their non-drinking peers. Credit: Getty Images

Some teens on Facebook are really putting the "social" in social networking -- boozing it up while they check in on their friends online.

New research finds teens who drink alcohol spend more time on the computer for fun -- listening to music and updating their online profiles -- than their non-drinking peers.

The study, published in the online edition of the journal Addictive Behaviors and authored by Weill Cornell Medical College public health researcher Dr. Jennifer Epstein, looked at anonymous surveys from 264 teens, a university press release reports.

"While the specific factors linking teenage drinking and computer use are not yet established, it seems likely that adolescents are experimenting with drinking and activities on the Internet," she says in the release. "In turn, exposure to online material such as alcohol advertising or alcohol-using peers on social networking sites could reinforce teens' drinking."

Epstein, an assistant professor of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, says kids are getting online at younger ages, and parents need to monitor their computer and alcohol use.

"According to a national study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, more than half of parents of teenagers had filters installed on the computers their child uses to block content parents find objectionable, yet many parents do not use any form of parental monitoring, particularly for older teens," Epstein adds in the release.

The Weill Cornell survey found that teens who said they drank alcohol in the last month used a computer more hours per week -- not counting homework -- than those who did not, the release states.

The researchers also discovered drinking was linked to more social networking and listening to and downloading music. No strong link was found between drinking and online shopping or playing video games, however, according to the release.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Alcohol in the Media

the editors at Common Sense Media — Tue, 10 May 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alcohol & Drugs, Media, Expert Advice: Big Kids, Expert Advice: Tweens, Expert Advice: Teens

Advertisements leave an impression on your children. Credit: Getty Images

Don't people have fun in alcohol ads? And they make a big impression on your kids. Alcohol ads have become entertainment in their own right. One of the most popular plot lines for teen movies is scoring alcohol for a party. There are even mobile apps centered on drinking. It's nearly impossible to undo all this influence, but you can try to balance it with honest discussions about drinking and by keeping an eye on what's influencing your kids.

What is alcohol advertising?

Your kids and teens get all sorts of messages about drinking and drugs from the media. And mostly what they see is that it's fun and exciting and it's what celebrities and popular people do. Not only do they see alcohol ads on TV, but also drinking and drunkenness on shows and movies targeting teens.

Alcohol companies also target teens by using new media that's interactive, including social networks, viral videos, mobile cell phone updates, and downloadable apps. The viral nature of the Web allows advertisers to reach kids directly with an addictive game or funny video -- and in ways that kids may not recognize as advertising.

The facts

The alcohol industry is allowed by regulators to advertise on TV shows only where 70 percent of the audience is older than 21.
Alcohol producers spent $991 million on television advertising in 2002 - 60 percent of it on sports programming (Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, 2003).
Online games, group pages on social media sites, and banner ads on popular sites for teens are some new ways that alcohol producers are promoting their products. The producers of Southern Comfort now pour their entire advertising budget into social media sites like Facebook (Ad Age, 2009).
Several studies point to the power of product placements for alcohol in TV and movies - for example, characters drinking a specific type of beer - to influence when kids start drinking as well as what and how much they drink (Marin Institute, 2008).
Kids whose parents restrict R-rated movies drink less alcohol and start drinking later than peers whose parents put no restrictions on movies (Dartmouth, 2010).

Why it matters

There is a direct link between role models and advertising, and the effect that both have on your kids' behavior. Alcohol companies know this, and that's why they go after your kids. The more alcohol ads young people see, the more they drink. According to one 2006 study, each additional dollar alcohol companies spend on advertising raises the number of drinks youths consume by 3 percent.

Studies have shown that the more kids drink before their brains are fully developed (in their early 20s), the more likely they are to develop lifelong alcohol dependencies. In fact, kids who start drinking before they turn 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics than adults who begin drinking at 21. But parents can mitigate these statistics. A 2010 study by Dartmouth Medical School showed that parents who restrict R-rated movies (where alcohol is often part of the story) actually counteract the peer pressure on their kids to start drinking.

Parent tips for elementary school kids

Keep them away from alcohol ads. Mute the ads when they come on. Especially the funny ones because the kids remember them and repeat them. One recent study showed that elementary kids could name almost all the alcohol brands showed to them but could only identify two past presidents.

Parent tips for middle and high school kids

Spell it out. Let your kids know about marketing and that alcohol advertisers are trying to hook them on their brands - just to get more money in their pockets. Help your children decode ads' messages: What kind of lifestyle are they selling? Do these ads tell the whole story - or do they leave something out (such as DUIs, addiction, liver disease, etc.)?
Moderate alcohol on TV. You have a right to say no to programs that seem to celebrate teen drinking or show too many alcohol ads. This goes for movies, radio stations, magazines, and websites, too. Check out our reviews to see how a program portrays alcohol, then set your own rules.
Look for teachable moments. If you're watching a TV show, and there's a scene featuring teen drinking, or you read about a celebrity arrested for doing drugs, check in with your kids. Ask them about if their peers are using alcohol, or if they have any anxieties or questions about drinking. Take time to share your opinions - and expectations - about teens and drinking.
Watch your messages. Be a good role model by not being drunk in front of your kids or by not using alcohol to escape problems. Make sure that you don't glamorize alcohol or drugs by sharing stories about "wild days" in your past.
Keep an eye on alcohol ads embedded in new media. You don't want your kids to follow Smirnoff on Facebook or Twitter, download the latest Budweiser mobile app, or be influenced by other ways that alcohol companies are embedding their messages.

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Get more information for parents on media and technology by checking out Common Sense Media.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

My Son Confessed That He's Tried Pot! Should I Punish Him?

Susan Stiffelman, MFT — Mon, 09 May 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alcohol & Drugs, Expert Advice: Teens

Dear AdviceMama,

My 15-year old son just admitted to me he tried marijuana over the summer. I have no idea how to handle this. I talked to him about drug use, making good choices, my disappointment in him, etc., but do I punish him? How should I punish him? I want him to be open and honest with me, but not sure what else I should be doing except talking to him. Please help.

Signed,
Weeding through my options

Dear Mom,

Yours is one of the most common questions asked by parents of teens: What should I do when I discover that my youngster has experimented with drugs or alcohol? I wish the answer were simple; it isn't. But I will try to touch on a few ways you might generally approach the situation, while asking you to keep in mind that, for kids who are in serious trouble -- depression, family history of drug or alcohol abuse, promiscuity, family crisis -- I would point you toward seeking professional help.

Most kids in today's society are going to be offered the opportunity to try alcohol and marijuana, probably many times. These substances are so much a part of adolescent life that it would take extreme isolation to prevent your teen from being exposed to them.

Some parents take the view that all kids will experiment with at least marijuana and alcohol, and that there's nothing much to do about it, other than hope it doesn't become a significant part of their youngster's life. Perhaps these parents use substances themselves, and don't see them as harmful. Others will go as far as to tell their teens that if they want to drink or smoke pot, they should do it at home, believing that it's "good parenting" to have their child -- and his friends -- imbibing under their roof, rather than out and about.

But while it's almost inevitable that our kids will be offered the chance to try illegal substances, it is not in their best interests for parents to simply look the other way. Teens still need parents to help them make good choices; acting like it's no big deal can send a confusing message to a youngster who might not want to drink every weekend, but may not know how to handle the peer pressure to do so.

The other side of this is that if your teen is terrified of your reaction if you discover he's been experimenting with pot or alcohol, he may not tell you about it. Punishing your son for experimenting with marijuana may simply encourage him to become better at hiding it from you.

If there is no significant history of alcoholism or addiction in your family tree, and you're confident your son is generally happy and doing well (rather than depressed, increasingly angry or withdrawn or in the midst of a life crisis), your best approach is to keep communication open.

Ask him how it felt when he smoked pot, and if it was something he was tempted to do more. If he admits he liked it a lot, talk to him about why drugs and alcohol make people feel better. Explain the way the brain works, and the impact these substances can have on lowering inhibition or lifting mood -- temporarily.

Ask him if he'd be willing to listen to your concerns. Explain that while you understand "everyone" may be doing it, you know that, for many kids, the stress relief they experience while under the influence of pot or alcohol can quickly become at least psychologically addicting, and that there are better -- and healthier -- ways of handling social anxiety and pressures. Talk about the impact these substances have on the brain; there are some great scans at brainplace.com.

Most of all, make sure your son knows he can talk with you openly. If you start to sense that his use has escalated beyond normal experimentation, do not hesitate to set guidelines that send him a clear message that it is not OK. At 15, his brain is still in a vulnerable and formative stage, and it is your responsibility to help him make sound decisions that preserve his health and safety.

Finally, take a look at how your son sees you unwinding at the end of the day, or when you socialize. If you have a cocktail the minute you walk in the door after work, or a six-pack when friends come over, you're "teaching" him that people need a substance to unwind or enjoy themselves. Show him you can enjoy life without leaning on something to make you relax or numb out, and you'll be sending the strongest message possible that he can do the same.

Yours in parenting support,
AdviceMama

AdviceMama, Susan Stiffelman, is a licensed and practicing psychotherapist and marriage and family therapist. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in developmental psychology and a Master of Arts in clinical psychology. Her book, Parenting Without Power Struggles, is available on Amazon. Sign up to get Susan's free parenting newsletter.

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Don't Drink With Your Kids, Says Study

Tom Henderson — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:45:00 EST

Filed under: Alcohol & Drugs, Family Time, Health

Watch a video on how to talk to kids about drugs and alcohol.

13- to 15-year-olds in Australia who shared drinks with their parents developed alcohol problems later on. Credit: Paul Ellis, Getty Images

"Eat your vegetables, or no more beer for you."

This might be considered tough love in Australia, but researchers at the University of Washington say Australian parents aren't doing their kids any favors by raising a glass or two -- or three with them.

Researchers found 13- to 15-year-olds in Australia who shared drinks with their parents developed -- brace yourselves -- alcohol problems later on. Kids were less likely to turn into hopeless lushes if their parents denied them alcohol in their middle-school years.

Prof. Richard Catalano and his team of researchers looked at some 2,000 kids in Washington state and Victoria, Australia, over a three-year time frame, Seattle Weekly reports. More permissive Australian parents were compared with their more restrictive American counterparts.

Researchers concluded providing opportunities for drinking, even under parental supervision, didn't discourage alcohol abuse.

Such revelations, researchers said, "Lead us to suggest that policies should not encourage parents to drink with their children nor provide opportunities to supervise their use."

In other words, don't celebrate your child's middle school graduation by taking him out for a classic mother-son bender.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

4-H Club Members Less Likely to Do Drugs, Have Sex, Study Finds

Mary Beth Sammons — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs

More 4-H students are staying away from drugs and alcohol. Credit: Getty Images

It used to be that the mention of 4-H clubs conjured up images of teens headed away from city life to the farm to bale hay or milk cows.

But now, the nation's largest youth organization has spilled into suburban and urban locales, where kids learn public speaking, engineering, math and volunteerism. They also have less sex, do fewer drugs, don't drink alcohol and refrain from puffing on cigarettes, according to a study, U.S. News reports.

The organization still battles its agricultural and rural image, but researchers at Tufts University say the 7 million 4-H kids, now mostly from the city and suburbs, keeps kids away from the bad stuff, according to the magazine.

The report, "Waves of the Future," tracked fifth graders through their high school graduation, surveying them once a year. The findings suggest students who participate in 4-H are 20 percent less likely to have sex by the 10th grade, and two times less likely to smoke or drink alcohol. They are also 56 percent more likely to spend more hours exercising or being physically active, the report says.

Kids who join 4-H also report better grades, higher levels of academic competence, and an elevated level of engagement at school, the report notes. They are twice as likely to go to college and more likely to pursue future courses or a career in science, engineering or computer technology.

The study was launched in 2002, and continues today, surveying more than 6,400 adolescents from diverse backgrounds across 34 states, according to U.S. News.

4-H's structured learning, encouragement and adult mentoring plays a vital role in helping students achieve future life successes mentoring, skill building and leadership opportunities, Richard Lerner, head of the Tufts study, says in the report.

"There is a positive and sustained relationship between an adult and young person," he says.

Whether a student is learning urban gardening or public speaking, being able to apply these skills to real-life situations can keep students away from making bad decisions, Lerner tells U.S. News.

"Giving young people a chance to use those skills validates what they've been learning," he adds.

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Obese Teens Just as Likely to Have Sex, Drink, Smoke as Their Thinner Peers, Study Shows

Mary Beth Sammons — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Teens, In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Health

Watch what our healthy families are doing to stay in shape!

A new study suggests obese teens engage in the same risky social behaviors as their svelte peers. Credit: Getty Images

Why should sex, smoking and boozing be the privilege of only one body type?

Plus-sized teens are proving they can party hard, too. While obese teens were thought to be social outcasts, the findings of a new study suggest they engage in the same risky social behaviors as their svelte peers, including smoking, hooking up and drinking, CNN reports.

Those behaviors, however, can signal more serious problems for obese teens, according to the network.

The 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, examined the behavior of 9,000 high school students, finding that, in some ways, obese teens drink as much as their normal-weight peers. But they also take greater risks.

In addition, both males and females in the extremely obese group were more likely to report having tried cigarettes, according to the study published in Pediatrics.

Though obese girls are less likely to have sex than their thinner peers, the girls that are sexually active are more likely also to be under the influence of substances, lead researcher Meg Zeller of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, tells CNN.

"So it really paints this picture of vulnerability for this sub-population of teen girls and it really makes us question what their social interactions are really like," she tells the network. "These kids are suffering medically and psychosocially, and now we know that they're also engaging in high-risk behaviors. That could be a lethal combination."

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Check out Healthy Families Challenge!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

'Mommy' Wants Her Wine, Vinters Battle Over Trademark

Mary Beth Sammons — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: Alcohol & Drugs, Just for You

Mommy's Time Out is now trademarked. Credit: Getty Images

Can't anyone give moms a break? Do we really need to make a federal case out of the fact that more than one mother enjoys gulping a little Chardonnay to wind down at the end of a day?

Rival vintners, who have caught onto this lucrative vino demographic have headed to court for the exclusive rights to the word "mommy" on their wine labels, Reuters reports.

The California-based Clos Lachance is asking the court to declare "Mommyjuice" does not violate the trademark of Selective Wine Estates' "Mommy's Time Out."

"Mommy is a generic word that they don't have a monopoly on," KC Branch, an attorney who represents Clos Lachance, tells Reuters.

The owner of Mommy's Time Out declined to comment on the lawsuit, according to the news service.

The key to winning a trademark violation case is for a brand owner to convince the courts that the rival's branding will cause confusion in the minds of the consumer, Reuters reports.

Decide for yourselves: The front label of Mommyjuice features a drawing of a woman juggling a house, teddy bear and computer. The back label advises moms to "tuck your kids into bed, sit down and have a glass of Mommyjuice. Because you deserve it."

The front label of Mommy's Time Out shows an empty chair facing a corner. A wine bottle and glass sit on a table next to the chair.

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Baby Gets Alcohol by Mistake at Applebee's

Tom Henderson — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Weird But True, Alcohol & Drugs, Funny Stuff

At first, he got really, really sleepy and put his head down on the table. A few minutes later, he was chattering away -- saying hello to everyone in the joint and generally being Mr. Life of the Party.

You know how babies are when they get drunk.

And 15-month-old Dominic Dill-Reese of Oak Park, Mich., was definitely plowed. After hitting the ol' sippy copy at Applebee's in Madison Heights April 8, the Detroit News reports he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 -- enough go get arrested for drunk driving.

Fortunately, his parents were driving that night. They tell the paper they had no idea they were taking their son out for a baby bender. They ordered him apple juice. Instead, the waiter served him an alcohol-infused margarita mix.

When Dominic started acting strangely, his mother Taylor Dill-Reese took a taste and found he was boozing it up.

"We took it from him, and he kind of laid his head on the table and dozed off a little bit, then woke back up and got real happy and was saying bye to people, hi to people," she tells WOOD, the NBC affiliate in Grand Rapids, Mich. "His food came, and he wouldn't eat it."

His parents took Dominic to a nearby hospital where doctors told them he would be fine.

Police tell the Detroit News a bottle at the bar was apparently mislabeled. Melissa Racer, a spokeswoman for Applebee's, released a statement to the paper saying the incident is being investigated internally, as well as by local police. Applebees is also changing its policy for dispensing and storing fruit juice, she adds.

Specifically, wait staff will pour juice for children "only from single-serve containers served at the table" beginning this week. In addition, "nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages must be stored in completely separate and identified containers."

"We want to express how thankful we are that the child involved in the incident at our restaurant in Madison Heights, Mich., on April 8, was not seriously injured as a result of accidentally receiving the wrong beverage," Racer's statement reads. "We also want to apologize to his parents, for the stress and worry this caused them."

This is not the first time a trip to Applebee's has resulted in a tipsy tot, according to the Detroit News. Chad Wuthrick of Salem, Ohio, tells the paper his wife and 1-year-old daughter had a similar experience after ordering apple juice at an Applebee's in Hermitage, Pa., on Dec. 3.

"After she took a drink she started gagging and spit it out," he says.

In June 2007, a 2-year-old Antioch, Calif., boy also received a margarita drink instead of apple juice at an Applebee's. A year earlier, a 5-year-old New York City boy was given a Long Island iced tea.

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Even an Occasional Drink Early in Pregnancy Can Cause Premature Birth, Study Shows

Lesley Kennedy — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs, Expert Advice: Pregnancy

A new study may cause you to rethink drinking while you're pregnant. Credit: Getty Images

Step away from the chardonnay.

The debate over how much alcohol -- if any -- is safe to drink during pregnancy has been raging for decades, but a new study published in the journal BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth finds even occasional drinking can result in premature babies.

According to a new release, researchers in Dublin looked at how much alcohol women drank during their early pregnancies to discover the effect it had on their babies.

More than 60,000 pregnant women were questioned during their hospital booking interview, which usually took place 10 to 12 weeks after conception, the release states. Women were asked about their home lives, whether they worked, what their nationality was and about their drinking habits prior to their antenatal booking visit. Answers were compared to birth record data and records from the special care baby unit.

About a fifth of the women told researchers they never drank, while 71 percent claimed to be occasional drinkers (zero to five units a week), according to the study. There was one case of fetal alcohol syndrome among this low-alcohol group, the release states, so researchers say it's likely some women underestimated or under-reported the amount they drank.

In general, the researchers say, fetal alcohol syndrome occurred less frequently than expected in the study, suggesting it is either not recognized by medical staff or only becomes apparent after the mother and baby have left the hospital.

Ten percent of the pregnant women drank a moderate amount of alcohol (six to 20 units a week), the release states. These women also were more likely to smoke, work and have private health care compared to those who never drank. Only two in 1,000 said they were heavy drinkers (more than 20 units per week). These women were most likely to be young and to have used illegal drugs.

The study shows moderate and heavy drinkers were often first time mothers, and unplanned pregnancies were associated with heavy drinking, according to the release.

Heavy drinking was also related to very premature birth. However, there was no difference in the occurrence of congenital or other birth defects regardless of the amount of alcohol women drank, the release states.

"This study emphasizes the need for improved detection of alcohol misuse in pregnancy and for early intervention in order to minimize the risks to the developing fetus," Prof. Deirdre J. Murphy, of Trinity College in Dublin, says in the release. "We would recommend that further research is required before even low amounts of alcohol can be considered safe."

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Teen Drug Use of Marijuana, Ecstasy on an Upswing

Mary Beth Sammons — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: In The News, Alcohol & Drugs

Drug and alcohol use are on the upswing among teens. Credit: Getty Images

Just when you thought you could take a breather from stressing over your teen doing drugs, a new study shows pot, booze and ecstasy use are on the upswing.

For a decade, drug use was declining among American teens, but it's progressively been rising during the last three years, according to a news release from the The Partnership at Drugfree.org.

The latest findings show there was a significant -- almost 70 percent -- spike in the number of teens who reported using the party drug ecstasy in the past year (from 6 percent in 2008 to 10 percent in 2010), the Partnership reports.

At the same time, marijuana use has jumped 22 percent -- from 32 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2010. On the alcohol front, 45 percent of teens say they do not see heavy drinking as "a great risk," 68 percent say they have had at least one drink in their lifetimes and the average age of taking a first drink was 14.

Researchers for the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study surveyed around 2,500 high school students in the 22nd annual study funded by the MetLife Foundation.

"As teen drug and alcohol use take a turn for the worse, a heavier burden is placed squarely on the shoulders of parents -- who need to take an active role in preventing substance abuse in their families, take action if they suspect their child is using and get immediate help for a child who has developed a problem with drugs or drinking," Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of The Partnership at Drugfree.org, says in the release.

Sean Clarkin, director of strategy for the Partnership, tells Reuters the growing acceptance of drug use in social media, the proliferation and discussion of medical marijuana and budget cuts to substance abuse prevention programs have contributed to the rise of substance use and abuse.

"There are very high levels of kids reporting that they are using drugs and alcohol to deal with stress," Clarkin tells Reuters, adding that the struggles families face in the current economy could be a factor in that.

Want to get the latest ParentDish news and advice? Sign up for our newsletter!

Permalink | Email this | Comments