Substance Use Prevention Tips for Parents - Kristen Polin and Tomas Barraza

09/24/19 • 63 min

notMYkid CEO Kristen Polin, Prevention Specialist Tomas Barraza, and Public Information Officer Shane Watson discuss six substance use prevention tips for parents of adolescents. All three are parents, individuals in longterm recovery, and veterans of the field of prevention for youth.
Six Tips:
1. Start talking to your kids when they're young
2. Set firm and clear rules and expectations about drugs and alcohol
3. Understand the teenage brain
4. Give your kids a way out of a risky situation
5. Decide on consequences together
6. Keep communication lines open
notMYkid Chief Programs Officer Joronda Montaño's prevention tips interview with Huffington Post:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-talk-to-your-teen-about-drugs-6-tips-for-parents_b_599236c1e4b0ed1f464c0d98
How Iceland reduced teen substance use:
https://www.apnews.com/83d5e39462164327a861ba34dcb3752c?fbclid=IwAR2VjrDsiAC_7YN9s--ehjnymiR87gJRML1RJJUUeEkSw36ddP65I65D2c8
https://mosaicscience.com/story/iceland-prevent-teen-substance-abuse/
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/01/teens-drugs-iceland/513668/
Contact information, resources and links mentioned in this episode:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255
Crisis Text Line: Text "Listen" to 741741
Teen Lifeline: (800) 248-8336
SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Locator: https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/
notMYkid Website: https://notmykid.org/
notMYkid Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notMYkid/
notMYkid Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notmykiddotorg/
notMYkid Twitter: https://twitter.com/notmykidtweets
notMYkid YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/notMYkidVids
Win This Year show email: [email protected]
Sponsor website: https://www.firstcheckfamily.com/
(Use code WINTHISYEAR to save on your order.)

Previous Episode

Recovery Month - Taylor Popp's Journey of Addiction and Recovery - Teen Drug Prevention

After nearly losing his life to drugs and alcohol, Taylor Popp is using his experience to help teens find a better path. In this episode, he shares his personal experience of becoming addicted to drugs and alcohol as a preteen, the chaos that substance use caused in his life, and how he managed to overcome his addictions. Taylor candidly and fearlessly talks about how he started using drugs, what his progression looked like, and what he does differently today to navigate life without drinking or using. He also discusses the things he's seeing and hearing from teens while working in schools as a Prevention Specialist, and shares some crucial takeaways for parents, families, educators, and anyone who works with youth. If you have preteens or teens in your life, you won't want to miss Taylor's insights and suggestions.
Taylor Popp is one of notMYkid’s most sought out Prevention Specialists who travels all throughout Arizona and speaks to both large auditoriums full of students and teaches small life skill classes. He is 25 years old and joined the notMYkid team in 2017. Taylor has been fortunate to celebrate over 4 years of continuous sobriety after turning his life around following over a decade of addiction.

Since arriving at notMYkid, Taylor has shared his story and skills with over 25,000 students on topics ranging from drug and alcohol addiction, bullying, depression, unhealthy relationships, body image, internet safety and critical life skills training for youth. Taylor also co-facilitates our Project Rewind Program, supporting families through education and early intervention.

When Taylor shares his incredible journey with youth, there is an immediate connection. His greatest satisfaction in life and his constant goal is to share his experience, strength and hope with others and inspire teens to rise above challenges and embrace their “something better” in life.

Contact information, resources and links mentioned in this episode:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255
Crisis Text Line: Text "Listen" to 741741
Teen Lifeline: (800) 248-8336
SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Locator: https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/
notMYkid Website: https://notmykid.org/
notMYkid Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notMYkid/
notMYkid Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notmykiddotorg/
notMYkid Twitter: https://twitter.com/notmykidtweets
notMYkid YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/notMYkidVids
Win This Year show email: [email protected]
Sponsor website: https://www.firstcheckfamily.com/
(Use code WINTHISYEAR to save on your order.)

Next Episode

"I Was Cyberbullied" - Ruth Carter - National Bullying Prevention Month / Internet Safety

Ruth Carter was in fear for their safety after being cyberbullied as an adult. The harassment reached a level where they had to take a university final in an undisclosed location, only wore casual clothes because they were sweating so much from the anxiety, and eventually consulted a professional security company. Ruth now shares that experience to help others who are going through similar experiences.
Ruth Carter blog - "My Child is Being Cyberbullied: What Now?"
https://azparenting.com/my-child-is-being-cyberbullied-what-now/
Ruth Carter blog - "I was Cyberbullied"
https://www.undeniableruth.com/2012/01/31/i-was-cyberbullied-part-1-of-4/
How to reach Ruth Carter online:
https://carterlawaz.com/geek-law-firm/
Contact information, resources and links mentioned in this episode:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-8255
Crisis Text Line: Text "Listen" to 741741
Teen Lifeline: (800) 248-8336
SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Locator: https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/
notMYkid Website: https://notmykid.org/
notMYkid Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notMYkid/
notMYkid Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notmykiddotorg/
notMYkid Twitter: https://twitter.com/notmykidtweets
notMYkid YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/notMYkidVids
Win This Year show email: [email protected]
Sponsor website: https://www.firstcheckfamily.com/
(Use code WINTHISYEAR to save on your order.)