I used to work for an agency that would pimp out counselors to private schools to provide trainings for their teens on drinking, drugs, and other topics. One thing I found was that kids really do not know just how risky binge drinking is. Sharing the facts with them was pretty enlightening. Another very useful topic we’d discuss is finding an “out” from risky situations. For example, how do you do this without looking like a narc? “Just Say No” is effective, but sometimes unrealistic. A lot of kids agreed that setting something up with a parent as an ongoing “signal” that they need to be picked up from a risky situation would be really important. For example- calling mom, “my allergies are acting up, can you pick me up?” etc.

Great framework – I like the big-picture ideas here.