Straight Dope for Parents

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The following resources and links may be of particular interest to you and your family. For simple definitions of drugs, addiction, and more, visit the Glossary of Common Terms. Need help now for you or someone you know?  Find where to get help.

To browse by section, click on the anchor links below.

Prevention and Parenting Tools

• CASA* Family Day
  A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™ -- a national holiday to celebrate and encourage family dinner and parental engagement
• Partnership for a Drug Free America, Parent Tool Kit 
  Powerful tools and practical advice for parents to keep their kids healthy and safe
• Time to Talk
  A comprehensive website that helps parents talk to their children about the risks of alcohol and other drugs; from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
• SAMHSA Family Guide
  A guide to help parents keep youth mentally healthy & drug free
• Talking with Kids About Tough Issues
  An initiative to support parent-child communication from Children Now and the Kaiser Family Foundation
• Parents. The Anti-Drug
  Parenting tools to raise drug-free kids, from the Office of National Drug Control Policy
• KidsHealth.com
  Health information and parenting tips from the Nemours Foundation
• Make a Difference: Talk to Your Child About Alcohol
  From National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
• Keeping Watch Over Your Child: The Basics of Monitoring
  From the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
• Tips for Monitoring
  From the Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Helping Kids Cope with Stress
  From KidsHealth.com and the Nemours Foundation
• Connecting with your Preteen
  From KidsHealth.com and the Nemours Foundation
• Advice on Parenting Teenagers: Build a Strong Bond with Your Teen
  From the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
• Not In My House
  Tips for safeguarding prescription drugs from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
• Tips for Parents — What To Do and When
  From the Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Conversations: What to Say
  From the Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Should You Snoop?
  From the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
• Developing Your Child's Self Esteem
  From KidsHealth.com and the Nemours Foundation

Middle School and High School

• The Transition to Middle School: Tips for Parents 
  In Word format, from The American School Counselor Association
• Monitoring the Future
  An annual study of the behaviors, attitudes, and values of American 8th, 10th and 12th grade students
• Transitions: The First Year of Middle School
  From the Partnership for a Drug-Free America

Underage Drinking

• Stop Underage Drinking 
  A comprehensive portal of Federal resources for information on underage drinking
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
  Fact sheets and research reports about underage drinking
• Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free 
  A coalition of current and former Governors' spouses, Federal agencies, and public and private organizations to prevent the use of alcohol by children ages 9 to 15
• KidsHealth, Kids and Alcohol
  Parenting tips for children at each stage of development, from pre-school to high school

Teen Drinking and Driving

• National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
  Information about teen drivers and safety from the CDC
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
  Dedicated to preventing drunk driving and underage drinking
• Teen Drivers 
  A comprehensive approach to teen driver safety from National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA)

College Drinking Prevention

• College Drinking Prevention
  Find tips for parents and students; look up college alcohol policies.
• Princeton Review
  Learn about specific colleges; look up party schools.
• The Gordie Foundation
  Provides young people with the skills to navigate the dangers of alcohol, binge drinking, peer pressure and hazing
• ChooseResponsibility.org
  Informational site for young adults, educators, and parents
• Circle of Trust
  Peer-to-peer education program to help educate students about the dangers of alcohol; including binge drinking, alcohol poisoning, hazing, and their many side effects
• College Drinking: Changing the Culture
  Comprehensive research-based information on issues related to alcohol abuse and binge drinking among college students
• HazingPrevention.org
  Find hazing information
• HigherEdCenter.org   
  U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention
• Mothers Against School Hazing
  Mothers working to eliminate hazing, bullying, and/or abusive acts towards children
• SecurityOnCampus.org
  Information on a variety of safety topics on campuses from drinking to date rape
• StopHazing.org   
  Dedicated to eliminating hazing

Tobacco Use

• American Legacy Foundation
  Tobacco use prevention
• truth™
  The largest youth smoking prevention campaign in the country
• KidsHealth, Kids and Smoking
  Parenting tips to prevent adolescent tobacco use

The Science of Addiction

• Above the Influence. The Science Behind Drug Use and Addiction
  From the Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Addiction: Drugs, Brains, and Behavior - The Science of Addiction
  From the National Institute on Drug Abuse

Drug Facts

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
  Drug information and facts for parents, and education materials for children
• Above the Influence. Drug Facts
  From the Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Drug Facts
  Detailed drug information
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration: Drug Information
  Drug facts and photos

Street Drug Slang

• Urban Dictionary
  User generated slang dictionary
• Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). Street Terms
  Contains over 2,300 street terms that refer to specific drug types or drug activity
• Indiana Prevention Resource Center, Street Drug Slang Dictionary
  Contains more than 3,800 street drug slang terms

Mental Health

• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
  Child and adolescent mental health information
• National Federation of Families for Children's Mental Health
  Support for families who have children with emotional, behavioral and mental health challenges
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), National Mental Health Information Center
  Learn about the prevention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders, locate mental health services in your area

News

• The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University
  The only nation-wide organization that brings together under one roof all the professional disciplines needed to study and combat abuse of all substances in all sectors of society
• Join Together at CASA
  Supports community-based efforts to advance effective alcohol and drug policy, prevention, and treatment; offers free daily and weekly news emails.
• U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
  The federal agency responsible for enforcing controlled substances laws and regulations