Pubdate: Mon, 15 Aug 2005
Source: Pacific Daily News (US GU)
Copyright: 2005 Pacific Daily News
Contact: http://www.guampdn.com/customerservice/contactus.html
Website: http://www.guampdn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1122
Author: Oyaol Ngirairikl
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

A SOLID FOUNDATION

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles aimed at helping 
parents talk to their children about the dangers of drug abuse. This week's 
article is for parents and guardians with elementary-school-age children.

Is kindergarten too soon to talk to children about drugs and alcohol?

Until about five years ago, Dawn Cruz would have answered that question as 
many parents would have, with a "Probably."

But now, Cruz, a mother of a 10-year-old boy, and a Substance Abuse 
Prevention specialist with Sanctuary Inc. for more than four years, is 
encouraging parents, aunts and uncles to teach children the dangers of 
illegal drugs as soon as they're old enough to go to school.

Unknown to many parents is that illegal drugs are making their way onto 
elementary school campuses and the hands of children as young as 5 years 
old, Guam Police Department officers have said.

"I have met 6-year-old kids who were smoking and drinking alcohol. They 
would get it at home where alcoholic drinks, cigarettes and even some 
illegal drugs were available because parents were doing it," Cruz said. She 
said her first experiences with children who drank alcohol and smoked was 
shortly after beginning her work at Sanctuary.

"That scared me because my son was their age."

Cruz said she then started talking to her son, who was 6 years old at the 
time, about drugs and alcohol.

Cruz said she broached the topic deliberately so he would understand the 
dangers of drugs and alcohol abuse, but she also approached the 
conversation with care because she didn't want to scare her son.

"I knew that my son's world at home is totally different from those kids 
who I talked to. But there are so many kids who come from homes where they 
are able to get their hands on stuff that I don't have in my house and 
bring it to school. So it was important to me to talk to him about that," 
Cruz said.

Here are some things she did with her son:

Make sure the environment is conducive to a serious conversation. That 
means the television, radio and video games are all off, allowing parents 
and children to tune in to each other.

Parents should know their kids' interests and use that to explain the 
dangers of drugs. Cruz's son enjoys working on his bike, so she uses that 
interest to explain that spray paints are used by a growing number of 
children as inhalants. She explains that the chemicals in the spray get 
into the body and can harm his brain and body.

Cruz used examples to explain the effects of drugs, like the dizziness and 
nausea he got when he twirled and twirled, or how "Uncle Joe" started 
acting strangely after drinking too many beers at the party the other night.

Since that first conversation, Cruz said, she and her son have discussed 
specific issues and events related to drugs and alcohol abuse, covering the 
difference between good and bad drugs and finding the courage and strength 
to say 'No.'

Here's one example of a conversation Cruz recalls having with her son when 
he was 8 years old, about an experience he had when confronted by friends:

Cruz's son: My friends were smoking and asked me if I wanted to smoke with 
them.

Cruz: What did you tell them and how did you feel about it?

Cruz's son: I know it's wrong so I said "No." But I was scared to say "No" 
because I didn't want them to think I was punking out.

Cruz: Well, being scared is a natural feeling. But you know how bad smoking 
is and what it does to your body. If there's someone you love and respect 
would you want them to do that to their body?

Cruz's son: No

Cruz: Do you love and respect yourself?

Cruz's son: Yeah.

Cruz: Then you have to do things that keep your body from getting hurt and 
I think that's what you did today. You respected yourself so you said "No" 
and walked away and that makes me so proud.
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