KIDS WITH INVOLVED PARENTS LESS LIKELY TO ABUSE DRUGS

Want to keep your child from abusing illegal drugs or alcohol? Cut his
allowance, put him to work and talk to him.

That, in a nutshell, is what a Columbia University study of alcohol and
drug abuse by youngsters aged 12-17 concludes. In other words, use your
common sense. Columbia interviewed nearly 2,000 youngsters and about 500
parents and found that:

Teen-agers with $25 or more a week in spending money are twice as likely to
smoke, drink and use illegal drugs.

Youngsters who are frequently bored are at increased risk.

Peer pressure and worry over, among other things, grades makes young people
more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs.

The study merely reinforces other, similar ones, down through the years -
as well as common sense. The bottom line for parents is that being involved
in their children's lives is critically important.