Sitnews - Stories in the News - Ketchikan, Alaska

 

Underage Drinking Educational Program Available
For 5th Graders, Teachers and Parents
Web Available Information Caps AK's Recognition of April as Alcohol Awareness Month

 

May 01, 2002
Tuesday - 1:30 pm


Every fifth-grade public school teacher in Alaska has access to new tools to help stop underage drinking before it starts, as First Lady Susan Knowles urges parents and teachers to talk with their students using the two-part set of underage drinking-related materials sent to teachers nationwide this month and available on the World Wide Web.

Reach Out Now: Talk with Your Fifth Grader about Underage Drinking includes lessons and in-class activities focused on increasing fifth graders' knowledge about alcohol and its effects on the developing child, ways to make healthy decisions about drinking, and alternative activities to underage drinking.

The take-home packet for students and their parents gives families concrete, health promoting activities that can help a child reject underage drinking. It provides key actions parents can take to help children make wise decisions, including: getting involved in your children's lives; making and enforcing clear and consistent rules; serving as a positive role model; and being aware of their activities.

"These timely materials could put knowledge about underage drinking to work in classrooms and homes across Alaska," Mrs. Knowles said. "What parents and teachers may not realize is that their disapproval of underage drinking has been identified as one of the key reasons children choose not to drink."

The program is part of a unique collaboration between the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Scholastic, Inc. The materials are based on research supported by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and funded by SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP).

The Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free, a consortium of Governors' spouses, including Mrs. Knowles, is helping to raise awareness and use of Reach Out Now materials.

 

 

Related Information:

For information about the Leadership Initiative and prevention activities for children ages 9-15, visit Mrs. Knowles' web site: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/alcoholfree.

Visit http://www.health.org/govpubs/MS908/ for the Reach Out Now materials.

 

Source of News Release:

Office of the Governor
Web Site

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