Research shows that parents have the most influence on whether or not their child chooses to drink alcohol or use drugs. The rules you set, the relationships you build, and the conversations you have about substance use really do impact the decisions your kids make. Parent Up encourages parents to use this influence!
When parents CARE, CONNECT, COMMUNICATE and pay CAREFUL ATTENTION, the likelihood of your child engaging in substance use decreases. These actions provide no guarantee, but if implemented consistently and with intention, the likelihood of your child engaging in substance use can be much lower. Together, we can create positive outcomes for our children and reduce the number of drug and alcohol-related consequences.
What You’ll Find at Parent Up:
- Why Parent Up? – Learn more about your influence as a parent in the decisions your kids make and why choosing to Parent Up is so important to preventing youth substance use.
- How to Parent Up – Ready to go? Follow Parent Up’s 4Cs model and learn how to implement these strategies in your everyday parenting to help protect your kids against underage drug use.
- Prevent Use – Want to learn more about the drugs teens are facing today and what steps you can take to help protect them? Visit our topic pages on Alcohol, Marijuana (Cannabis), Prescription Drugs, and Vaping for more information, talking tips, and free resources to help prevent youth use.
- Support Youth – Our helpful set of Parent Up tools can help you support youth by having more meaningful meals, setting expectations and boundaries, improving communication with your child, building their resilience, and more! Check out all of our helpful tools!
- Parent Up Insights – We share practical, up-to-date information to help parents tackle difficult issues with their kids and teens around underage drinking, vaping, mental health, and more. Follow along and share! Together we can create positive outcomes for our children.
About Parent Up
Parent Up is a messaging campaign coordinated by Beacon Mental Health (formerly Tri-County Mental Health Services, Inc.) and Northland prevention coalitions dedicated to keeping children safe from the harms of alcohol and other drug use. Our campaign is rooted in evidence-based research and prevention. Decades of studies clearly demonstrate that using alcohol, nicotine, or other drugs is harmful for the developing adolescent brain (for youth and young people under age 25).
Parent Up Insights
Make the Most of Dinners with Your Teen!
Dr. Anne Fishel is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology at the Harvard Medical School and the Director of the Family and Couples Therapy Program …
Parent Up advocates that:
- Our teens may be responsible individuals with many life experiences, but their brains are still rapidly developing until about age 25. Alcohol and other drugs are not safe while they continue to grow.
- It is not acceptable for children and teens to consume any amount of alcohol, nicotine, or other drugs.
- Allowing minors to drink or use other drugs puts parents and children at risk of health and legal consequences.
We provide:
- Tools and resources to equip you to care, connect, communicate and pay careful attention to your children from the elementary years through their high school years.
- Outreach in Kansas City, Missouri’s Northland communities to help empower parents to protect their kids from youth substance use.
Our Mission:
We strive to prevent all underage drug use by encouraging parents to care, connect, communicate, and pay careful attention to their children. Since parents have the greatest influence on their children’s decision to not use drugs or alcohol, our mission is to provide parents with the knowledge and resources they need to keep their children safe and healthy.
Our History
Parent Up is a campaign based in Clay, Platte, and Ray Counties in and around Kansas City, Missouri. Parent Up strives to eliminate youth substance use. Our campaign has been ongoing since 2012, operating primarily from federal and state prevention grants and funding. The campaign name “Parent Up” originated in Vermont.
