The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

Parenting a teen can be challenging! But hang in there—talking with your teen is an important part of helping keep your family safe. Fortunately, you can improve parent-teen communication simply by learning how teens reason and make choices. (Hint: It’s different from adults!) You can also learn communication strategies that encourage teens to come out of their shells. Find these insights, tips, and techniques in MADD program brochure . Isn’t it better for parents to give teens alcohol under supervision? Won’t we help them learn to drink responsibly that way?  Parents, of course, have the choice of how to raise their own children. But you might want to consider lessons from science before handing your son or daughter a drink. Research shows that when parents give alcohol to kids, those children are more likely to get into alcohol-related trouble and they’re more likely to drink to get drunk than other young people. Giving kids a drink—even with the best of edu...

Summer is coming and teens will have more free time on their hands.  Parents need to learn as much as they can about over the counter (OTC) medicine abuse, it is just as risky and dangerous as street drugs. What can you do? We can all play a role in ending medicine abuse.  By working together, parents and grandparents, health care providers,  community leaders and educators can truly make a difference. Here are 7 things you can do to help: 1. Take The Pledge. Visit http://www.medicineabuseproject.org 2. Safeguard Your Medicine. Keep prescription medicine in a secure place , count and monitor the number of pills you have and lock up your medicine. 3. Dispose Properly of Your Unused Medicine.   Learn how to safely dispose of medicine at home — and find a medicine take-back site near you. 4. Educate Yourself. Find helpful resources for Parents & Grandparents , Health Care Providers , Communities & Law Enforcement ...

Being a teen is not easy, parenting a teenager is more of a challenge.  With school ending shortly their routine of seeing their friends and classes as well as activities can sometimes leave your child with a sense of loneliness.  Adolescence can be a very turbulent and difficult time, even for the most well-adjusted child. Depression strikes teenagers and adults alike, and can have far-reaching implications when kids suffer from emotional difficulties that they aren’t sure how to manage. After noticing the signs of depression in your teen and helping him to get the treatment he needs, understanding the root of his depression can help to make the situation more manageable for everyone involved. While this is by no means a comprehensive list of all causes of teen depression, these ten situations can be very common contributing factors to depression. Academic Stress – Kids are under an enormous amount of pressure to succeed academically, especially as the co...

What does this say to parents of teenagers?    Are the parents too trusting of the teens or are the teens too smart for the parents? Are you still digesting that?    Let's understand this. One in four teens (24 percent) reports having misused or abused a prescription drug at least once in their lifetime (up from 18 percent in 2008 to 24 percent in 2012), which translates to about 5 million teens. That is a 33 percent increase over a five-year period.   -According to Drugfree.org That is a lot teens using illegal prescription drugs to get high or alter their moods.  Where are they getting these drugs from?   Parents, grandparents, a friend's home or simply buying them off the street.    This isn't   blame game it is time to get a grasp on it and communicate to your kids about the risks of prescription medicine when it is not taken for the reasons it is prescribed for by a doctor.   Sometimes it takes a ne...

It is that time of the year and teens are excited about their proms and graduation. With this usually comes celebration, but remember, drinking age is usually 21 years-old.  Parents need to encourage their teens to make smart choices.  There is the POWER of PARENTS! Steps you can take at home: Help your son or daughter steer clear of the dangers of underage drinking with these five steps: Step 1: Think of yourself as a coach Your role in preventing underage drinking is similar to coaching. You can help your teen by Sharing information Discussing choices and monitoring behavior Helping your teen anticipate and handle challenging situations Cheering your teen on to make smart, safe choices Step 2: Get busy communicating Begin a series of conversations with your son or daughter—proactively, before he or she gets caught drinking—about how: Alcohol is a drug with serious sedative effects Drinking has health dangers and other risks for young people...

Summer is almost here and the calls are coming in from parents that are struggling with what to do with their at-risk teens. Some issues we are hearing: Failing some classes, when they are more than capable of getting passing grades, if not straight A's. Dropping out of their favorite sport or activity. Smoking pot -- occasionally - though parents may blame it on the friends, please keep in mind, it is your child making the decision to inhale that joint or pop that pill.   Drinking - again, it may be the friends you want to blame, but are they holding the bottle to your teen's mouth? Sneaking out of the house. Defiance, lying, stealing...... Maybe they have changed their peer group this year? Let's face it, with a combination of any of these above, you could be traveling down a negative path.  Chances are very good a short-term summer program will not address a long term solution. It can irritate me when I see parents get sucked into these very expensive W...

Did you know that more than 50% of prescription drug abusers 12 and older obtain those prescription drugs from family and friends? In fact, some people looking to misuse prescription drugs find an easy source in their friend or family’s medicine cabinet. The good news is that proper disposal of unused drugs is one of the most effective ways to protect your loved ones from misuse. To provide a convenient means of safe drug disposal and help curb abuse, in conjunction with the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy Foundation (NABP) and their AWARxE Consumer Protection Program, the DEA is hosting a Take-Back Day on April 27, 2013. Consumers can safely and legally dispose of any unneeded medications, anonymously and for free. Held from 10 AM to 2 PM on April 27, 2013, the event is one of the few days of the year where residents can drop off expired or unused prescription medications without having to wonder whether they will be accepted—even controlled substances...