Prevention Works!

Give Children the Gift of Time and Attention This Holiday Season . . . and All Year

During the upcoming season of shopping and gift-giving, parents and other caregivers can remember that even the simplest gift often has an enormous impact on a child’s life. That is why this holiday season presents an excellent opportunity to give children the most precious gift of all--time and attention!

That is the main point of the Ad Council’s recently released The Greatest Gifts We Can Give Our Children: A Report from the Ad Council, which is part of a nationwide initiative focusing on improving the lives of children and families. The Ad Council is the Nation’s leading producer of public service communications aimed at educating Americans about important social issues and concerns. The Ad Council’s Report lists "eight special gifts from the heart that all children should receive," originally published in a June 1998 Reader’s Digest article on parenting.

• Dinner as a family event. Make this a predictable ritual, so children have a set time of day for connecting with other family members.
• Reading to--or with--your child. Parents and guardians should try to read to young children every night, and continue the practice even after children can read unassisted.
• Watching television together. Choose programs appropriately, and use them to initiate discussions about important issues, including ethics, morals, and behavior.
• An ear to listen to your kid’s ideas. Schedule family meetings and encourage children to find solutions to their own problems.
• Daily loving discipline. Children need limits; don’t be afraid to say no.
• An optimistic view of the world. Try to be more positive than negative.
• Show them how to help others. Set an example by volunteering or, better yet, volunteer with your child.
• Lots of hugs and kisses. Even teens can benefit from displays of affection.

The Ad Council’s Report also features an extensive list of books on parenting, informational Web sites, and resource organizations devoted to children’s health, education, development, and welfare.

National Families in Action (NFIA), the Atlanta-based organization that helped create and lead the parent drug prevention movement, offers similar advice in its list of "Twelve Tips for Helping Your Children Stay Drug-Free." NFIA’s suggestions include simple lifestyle changes parents and guardians can make to improve young people’s lives:

• Educate yourself about the problems facing today’s children.
• Give clear messages about your expectations.
• Be aware that many in the community put children’s buying power above children’s well-being. Don’t expect the community to automatically reinforce your values.
• Do not assume that the parents of all your children’s friends have the same rules you do.
• Believe that children want rules to guide them.
• Remember that teenagers need parental supervision as much as toddlers do.

National Families in Action can be contacted at (404) 248-9676, or visit their Web site at http://www.emory.edu/NFIA. For more information about the Ad Council’s family-focused initiatives, contact them at (212) 922-1500 or visit them online at info@adcouncil.org. For a reprint of the complete Reader’s Digest article, contact their Special Services department at 1-800-840-9020, or visit their Web site at http://www.readersdigest.com/. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration-sponsored National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, at 1-800-729-6686 (TDD: 1-800-487-4889) or http://ncadi.samhsa.gov, also offers information on effective parenting that can help prevent youth substance abuse.

To receive a complimentary copy of this PreventionAlert, call SAMSHA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) @ 1-800-729-6686, TDD 1-800-487-4889 (for the hearing impaired.) PREVENTIONAlert is supported by the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and may be copied without permission with appropriate citation. For information about PREVENTIONAlert, please contact CSAP by phone (301) 443-0581 or e-mail gensley@samhsa.gov

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