youth
Early Drinking Influences Alcohol Addiction in Adulthood
Posted by Gary Hopkins on
It is fairly common to hear parents talk about the need to teach their children how to drink responsibly. Apparently, many people assume that responsible use of alcohol at home will be projected to youth as they get older.
This is a dangerous assumption.
Recent research has focused on the connection between the age when a person first uses alcohol and their alcohol problems later in life. Delaying the onset of alcohol use has been proposed as a strategy to prevent alcohol dependence or abuse in adulthood.
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Don't Mix Alcohol and Energy Drinks
Posted by Galen Bosley on
Mixing alcohol and energy drinks increases binge drinking, sexual indiscretion and drunk driving.
The common practice among youth and young adults of mixing energy drinks with alcoholic beverages increases the risk of binge drinking by 300 per cent. It also doubles the risk of being taken advantage of sexually, of taking sexual advantage of someone else, and doubles the likelihood of riding with a driver under the influence.
PositiveTip: Choose alternative non-alcoholic drinks over alcoholic and caffeinated beverages. They don’t carry these dangerous risks!
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Electronic Cigarettes: A Shocking Caution
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
Are e-cigarettes really safer than the real thing?
Electronic nicotine delivery devices (e-cigarettes) are a rapidly spreading fad in the USA and other countries. They pose special risks to children and adolescents. The devices are widely marketed on the internet as both safe and better for the environment. But FDA analysis points to the fact that even those labeled "nicotine free" actually deliver varying amounts of nicotine and diethylene glycol.
PositiveTip: Encourage your children to avoid e-cigarettes and resist the aggressive marketing schemes that target youth.
Sleep Habits Passed on to Next Generation
Posted by Gary Hopkins on
Parents pass along many traits to their kids. One of these includes a child's sleep habits.
A report from the Kaiser Family Foundation says, ”Sleep is the subject of some confusion and considerable anxiety among parents of infants, but fades gradually to an afterthought among most parents of older children, who struggle to maintain busy schedules, enforce homework, and endorse healthy social lives. In the effort to balance these needs, children’s sleep often takes a back seat.”
The Kaiser Family Foundation web site, explains the issue:
Benefits of Parental Monitoring-2: Kids with Type 1 Diabetes
Posted by Gary Hopkins on
This is the second in a series of blogs about the benefits of parental monitoring. The first blog looked at how monitoring kids with Type 1 diabetes helps them stick to their treatment schedule.
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Do Your Kids Ride with Drinking Drivers?
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
More than 25% of American kids have ridden at least in the last 30 days with a drinking driver.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports from their national survey of risky behavior, that during the 30 days before the survey, 28.3% of students nationwide had ridden one or more times in a car or other vehicle driven by someone who had been drinking alcohol.
PositiveTip: Talk to your kids about riding in a car with someone who has been drinking--and know who they will be with. It could be mean the difference between life and death.
The Potential Problem of Kids & Gambling
Posted by Gary Hopkins on
Have you noticed that gambling is now treated like a sport?
Take a minute to go to the ESPN web site and search for the term “poker”. You'll find that ESPN Poker, is an entire section devoted to the game. Times sure have changed! Not long ago, very few people would have considered poker (a form of gambling) to be classified as a sport.
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Stimulants and Youth: A Sobering Association
Posted by Fred Hardinge on
Common stimulant medications linked to sudden, unexplained deaths in youth.
There have been increasing concerns in recent years that stimulant drugs commonly given for ADHD may be associated with an increased risk of sudden, unexplained death in young people. In a new retrospective, case-controlled study researchers have reported the probability that those using the most commonly prescribed stimulant (methylphenidate) was 7.4 compared to those who were not. (If it had been 1, then the probability would have been the same for each group.)