This campaign is produced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
All information on this page can be accessed at: www.samhsa.gov/talk-they-hear-you
Campaign Goals:
- Increase parents’ awareness of the prevalence and risk of underage drinking and substance use
- Equip parents with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to prevent underage drinking and substance use
- Increase parents’ actions to prevent underage drinking and substance use
Answering Difficult Questions
5 Tips to Talking with Kids about Alcohol:
- Show your disapproval of underage drinking
- Show you care about your child’s happiness and well-being
- Show you’re a good source of information about alcohol
- Show you’re paying attention and you’ll notice if your child drinks
- Build your child’s skills and strategies for avoiding underage drinking
Keep it low-key. Don’t worry, you don’t have to get everything across in one talk.
Plan to have many short talks.
Small Conversations Can Make a Big Impact… Why?
- Short, frequent discussions can have a real impact on your child’s decisions about alcohol
- Talking often builds an open, trusting relationship with your child
- Lot’s of talks are more effective than one “big talk”
Tips for Talks:
- When you do talk about alcohol, make your views and rules clear
- As the children you care for, the conversation changes
- Remember that the conversation goes both ways
- What you do is just as important as what you say