Tips to avoid summer underage drinking
Did you know that more young people try alcohol for the first time during June and July than at any other time of the year? Keeping teens occupied and supervised helps to ensure they have a safe summer. By involving teens in a variety of alcohol-free activities, such as sports, summer camps and outdoor recreational activities, you can help prevent underage drinking.

Here are a few other tips for busy families to consider for the summer months and beyond:

• Establish and maintain good communication with your child. Talk with your child every day. With a closer relationship to you, they will be less likely to experiment with alcohol, tobacco or illegal drugs.

• Get involved in your child's life. Young people are much less likely to have substance-use problems when they have positive activities to do and when caring adults are involved in their lives.

Your involvement and encouragement tell your child that they and their activities are worthwhile. Additionally, you will be better able to see changes in your child that may indicate a problem.

• Make clear, sensible rules for your child and enforce them with consistent and appropriate consequences. By doing this, you help your child develop daily habits of self-discipline. Following these rules can help protect your child's physical safety and mental well-being, which can lower their risk for substance-abuse problems.

• Set a good example for your child through your own behavior. Think about what you say and how you act in front of them. Your child learns social skills and how to deal with stress by listening to and watching you. Do not take part in illegal, unhealthy or dangerous practices related to alcohol, tobacco, or drugs or they may believe these practices are OK.

• Support your child's social development by teaching your child how to form positive relationships. Research shows that the pressure to use tobacco, alcohol and illegal drugs comes most often from wanting to be accepted, wanting to belong, and wanting to be noticed. Help your child learn what qualities to look for in a friend, and advise them about what to say if offered harmful substances.

• Find out what your child is listening to and how they are spending time with their friends. Talking with your child about their interests opens up an opportunity for you to share your values. Research says that monitoring your child's activities can lower their chances of getting involved in situations you don't approve of, especially those that can be harmful.

Unsupervised children simply have more opportunities to experiment with risky behaviors, including the use of alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, and they may start substance abuse at earlier ages.

Call Prevention First at 732- 663-1800, ext. 216, or visit us at www.preventionfirst.net.

Mary Pat Angelini Executive Director and CEO

Prevention First Ocean Township