(D.A.R.E.) Drug Abuse Resistance Education

A program that targets elementary children(5th grade) before they are likely to have used alcohol, tobacco, and other harmful drugs. By reaching children at an age when they are most receptive, project DARE seeks to prevent adolescent drug use and to reduce drug trafficking by eliminating the demand for drugs.

DARE lessons focus on four major areas through a structured, sequential curriculum:

• Providing accurate information about tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs
• Teaching students decision-making skills
• Showing Students how to resist peer pressure
• Giving students ideas for alternatives to drug use

TIPS FOR PARENTS

• Establish family rules that make the use of drugs non-negotiable.
• Educate yourself about drugs, so you can talk informatively with your children and answer their questions.
• Since peer pressure is a major factor in teen drug use, know your children's friends.
• Talk with other parents. Try to establish uniform rules that make access to drugs harder for your children and their friends, such as curfew, the amount of spending money they receive, and their use of a car.
• If problems arise, try to seek advice and counsel from someone both you and your child respect and to whom you can relate.