The best way to keep your kids from drinking and using drugs?  It could be as simple as “Talk Early, Talk Often” which is a campaign being spearheaded by the Sherburne County SUP Coalition to help educate and empower parents and other caring adults to have ongoing conversations with the young people in their lives.  Research has shown that although it may seem like kids aren’t listening – they really are.  Parents are role models for kids and their views on alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs can strongly influence how kids think about them.  Make talking about drugs a part of your general health and safety conversations – starting as early as elementary age and continuing on from there. 

As part of the campaign, five videos were filmed with help from local adult and youth residents to bring awareness to a variety of topics.  Three of the videos display common parent-child scenarios designed to provide examples on how to respond during certain situations and how using opportune times to talk allows parents to initiate more ongoing conversations.  The other two videos enlisted help from local law enforcement to discuss the importance of Social Host Ordinances and how they benefit our community as well as local healthcare professionals to dispel some of the myths surrounding youth marijuana use. 

The SUP Coalition is encouraging the public to access the videos and other educational resources through their coalition Facebook page (SCSUPC) and on their website at www.sherburnesupcoalition.org. 

The Sherburne County Substance Use Prevention Coalition is a community-focused organization on a mission to prevent substance use among youth by promoting safe and healthy choices.