Milton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition announces launch of its new parent campaign to reduce underage drinking

Campaign geared to Milton parents and guardians

Did you know that the best time to talk to your kids about not using alcohol is starting at about the age of 9, before middle school? And did you know that parents and guardians who talk to their kids about their expectations are less likely to drink?

Stay tuned for more helpful tips such as these! The Milton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition announces the launch of its new Parent Campaign to Reduce Underage Drinking. The campaign is geared to Milton parents and guardians and features messages with professionally designed ads that will be circulated via multiple media and communication channels. Messages will be geared to helping adults understand why it’s best to have kids delay their consumption of alcohol until they’re adults. Examples of messages you will be seeing around town are ‘Alcohol can harm the teen brain and wire it for addiction. Talk to your kids.’ and ‘Parents and guardians are the #1 influence on their child’s decisions’. These messages have been vetted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

The Parent Campaign will feature a newly designed website ‘www.rethinkthedrinks.com’, chock full of helpful tips and facts for parents and guardians, including a ‘Parent Pledge’ for easy action steps to follow. The website includes practical tips such as ‘Listen and avoid criticizing’, ‘Discuss ways to avoid peer pressure’, ‘Times to talk to kids’ and ‘Talk early and often’. A critical component of the Parent Campaign will include educational opportunities, which are available for free to anyone from the Milton community interested in learning more.

For more information:

Community presentations have been well received to date, and more are planned. If you are interested in attending an upcoming presentation, or your community group would like to request a presentation at your upcoming meeting, contact [email protected] or www.milton-coalition.com to sign up for Coalition updates for upcoming events and new resources.

Save the date for the next MSAPC meeting on Thursday, January 31st at 7:00 p.m. at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital – Milton, Nangeroni Conference room.