Here’s a heads up from a fellow MOAT.

As is often the case, sneaky kids have found yet another way to hide their consumption of alcohol. The link below will take you to ClickOnDetroit who kindly walks us through the latest and greatest creative way kids are getting drunk. It’s worth watching… becuase we need to know.

How can we stay on top of and ahead of this? It’s hard. Recently, Larry Rosen, PhD. offered his thoughts on such topics at Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association in August. He might have been talking about social media, its affect on kids and the often futile efforts of parents to guard kids; but his comment addresses this issue of drinking, too.

The key? Talk to our kids!

“‘For parents, Rosen offered guidance. “If you feel that you have to use some sort of computer program to surreptitiously monitor your child’s social networking, you are wasting your time. Your child will find a workaround in a matter of minutes,” he said. “You have to start talking about appropriate technology use early and often and build trust, so that when there is a problem, whether it is being bullied or seeing a disturbing image, your child will talk to you about it.”

He encouraged parents to assess their child’s activities on social networking sites, and discuss removing inappropriate content or connections to people who appear problematic. Parents also need to pay attention to the online trends and the latest technologies, websites and applications children are using, he said.

“Communication is the crux of parenting. You need to talk to your kids, or rather, listen to them,” Rosen said. “The ratio of parent listen to parent talk should be at least five-to-one. Talk one minute and listen for five.’”

Now… Click on this link so you can know what’s going on.

How Teens Smuggle Booze Under Your Nose

Thanks for walking the road with me … and smelling or tasting every gummy bear in sight :)

-Kay

Hmmm.. These cute little guys?