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Alcohol and Drug Services of Gallatin County_____
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A Resource Guide for Parents
& Families
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On this Page:
Other Resource Pages
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Want help? Want help with tough topics like substance use and abuse, sexual abuse and assault, depression and suicide?
Do you wonder. . .
What’s "normal" and what’s not during adolescence? |
This resource deals with issues common among all adolescents in Gallatin County.
It provides tools to help you guide your children.
It encourages you to network with other parents/guardians, community agencies and your schools to help your children
lead a productive, successful alcohol and drug-free lifestyle.
Above all, it calls for action, for more communication; parent to teacher and parent to parent.
It is a call for more involvement, a call to work together to help our youth to lead productive, successful alcohol and drug-free lives. |
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from Shelly Johnson, Executive Director ADSGC
Dear Parents and Guardians of Gallatin County Youth,
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The issue of underage drinking is a complex problem, one that can only be solved
through a cooperative effort between parents, schools, community leaders, and
the children themselves.
Three areas have proven to be effective in prevention of underage alcohol and
substance use: curtailing the availability of alcohol, consistent enforcement of
existing laws and regulations, and changing cultural misconceptions and behaviors
through education.
Consider some facts related to underage alcohol use:
- Alcohol is a factor in the four leading causes of death among persons ages
10- 24 through motor vehicle crashes, unintentional injuries, homicide and
suicide.
- Approximately 9.7 million current drinkers in the United States are between
the ages of 12-20.
- Alcohol is the drug most frequently used by high-school seniors.
- Young people begin drinking on average at12.6 years of age, and begin drinking
regularly at 14.5 years of age (2006 MT Prevention Needs Assessment).
- Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to
develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21.
Let’s get started on the solution as a community. We can’t afford to wait any
longer when it comes to the safety of our children.
This parenting guide is intended to educate you, to let you know that you aren't
alone with your challenges as a parent or guardian. |
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More Facts
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The presence and availability of drugs and illegal substances in Gallatin County is an ongoing threat to
our youth.
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Why Do Sally & Johnny Use Drugs?
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Some young people use alcohol and/or drugs because in some way or another they
are suffering. They use substances to make themselves feel better, or even
normal.
This group often includes people stuck in very difficult life situations - poverty or
abusive families, for example.
It also includes kids suffering from a variety of untreated mental disorders, like
clinical depression, manic depressive illness, panic disorders, schizophrenia.
Estimates are that as many as 10 million children and adolescents may suffer from
emotional and psychiatric problems of such magnitude that their ability to function
is compromised, and the majority of those kids are at extremely high risk of
becoming addicted to alcohol and/or drugs.
These young people are not using just to feel good. These children are actually
trying to medicate themselves. They use alcohol and/or drugs because they think
they will make them feel better, or normal, in the same way that other people
might be given anti-depressants or anti-anxiety medications.
The problem, of course, is that using alcohol and/or illicit drugs is not an effective
treatment. In addition to other, perhaps more obvious problems - like that their
use interferes with normal functioning - this kind of use ultimately makes them feel
worse, not better.
Medical research has shown clearly that this kind of substance use makes
underlying psychological problems worse.
Even the otherwise powerful protective factor of loving, supportive family
involvement in the life of the child is not very effective in these areas.
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Young people who are trying to self-medicate
need help with their underlying problems.
They need professional treatment.
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How do you know if your children are using drugs?
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It may seem natural for an adolescent to be a bit surly, but most adolescents are
not actually sullen, withdrawn, apathetic and lethargic.
You should talk to your child about any of these symptoms. You do need to know.
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What Can Parents Do? |
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What if your child is using alcohol and/or drugs?
In a small percentage of cases, parents can work with their own kids to get them
to stop. This might be easiest when the young person is just using occasionally,
to have a good time.
Of course, the earlier you start talking to your children about alcohol and/or drugs,
the better the chances are they won’t become involved with them.
If a child reaches the age of 20 without using alcohol, tobacco or marijuana, the
probability is almost zero he or she will ever develop a serious drug problem.
If you have questions or concerns about alcohol, tobacco or other drug use in your
child or family, call the Adolescent Resource Center at 586-5908. You will be able
to talk to someone who can help give you good, confidential, and caring
information.
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Treatment is Different For "Self-Medicators"
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Both the preventive and the treatment approaches for these "self-medicating"
young
people need to be quite different from the approaches one would use with
novelty
seekers or social users.
It can’t be very meaningful to warn people who feel terrible today that using drugs
may
alter their brains a month from now.
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- Other Parenting
Resource Pages -
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Other resources:
Alcohol, Why Wait Until After 21?
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Adolescent Resource Center
(406) 586-5908
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The majority of MT youth plan to drink alcohol (74.5%) -- 11.2% plan to smoke marijuana.
Only 5.6% plan to smoke cigarettes.