Youths to get lessons on alcohol

Brandee Tyree and Katharine Thompson are pretty unflappable, but there are some numbers that really scare them:

. In the Flathead, the most common age for children to start drinking alcohol is 14.

. A fourth of all eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders surveyed in March 2004 said they had had five or more drinks in a row sometime in the prior two weeks.

. Twenty percent of the teens said their parents would consider it only a little wrong, or not wrong at all, if they drank.

. Montana ranks fourth in the nation for 12- to 17-year-olds who used alcohol in the past month. (All information is from the 2004 Montana Prevention Needs Assessment Survey.)

"The first time your kid is offered alcohol," Thompson said, "it will be for free, it will come from someone they trust, and you won't be there."

So Tyree and Thompson, directors for Whitefish CARE and Flathead CARE, respectively, are joining forces in trying to make teenage alcohol use a thing of the past.

Along with Joel Welle, coordinator for Students Taking A New

Direction, they are promoting a series of 15 multimedia presentations in Flathead Valley schools this week. (See accompanying schedule.)

Montana's first lady, Nancy Schweitzer, will deliver a welcome and introduction at the Whitefish assemblies.

The shows, produced and nationally distributed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, aim to get students thinking about the choices they make.

Superhero, designed for elementary students, addresses the safest way to ride in cars, how their brains act as the body's control center, personal safety and refusal skills, avoiding alcohol and drug use, and other important foundations.

FACE, aimed at the middle grades, shows that making right choices is hard and correcting mistakes can be even harder, but today is the day to start making good decisions.

Backstage Pass takes teens from the onstage myths of alcohol and drug use to the backstage realities and consequences of dangerous decisions.

"One of the reasons I'm most excited about this is the collaboration with 22 organizations," Tyree said, noting the schools and businesses who have gotten on board. "It's been an effort, and to have it all happen in one week" is encouraging.

The big-screen, fast-paced multimedia presentations typically cost $750 each, but a grant targeting rural areas cut the Flathead's price in half. The sponsoring organizations still did a healthy share of fund-raising.

Besides the two CARE organizations and Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Flathead Electric's Roundup for Safety program and Flathead Prevention Alliance are contributing.

"MADD is starting to send a broader message that drinking itself is not safe," Thompson said. "Is it responsible? Is it legal? Is it safe? It's never safe for teens."

"There's a difference between what's legal and what's right," she added. "They aren't always the same thing."

Research by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism shows that anyone who starts drinking before age 15 has a 40 percent chance of becoming an alcoholic in his or her lifetime. Waiting even until 21 cuts that chance to 10 percent.

A person's youth, contrary to one common belief, does not help him bounce back more quickly from alcohol use. In fact, the American Medical Association says damage from alcohol use during adolescence can be long-term and irreversible.

Even school performance and test scores can be hard hit. The medical association reports that short-term or moderate drinking impairs learning and memory far more in youth than in adults - adolescents need to drink only half as much to suffer the same negative effects.

Both Tyree and Thompson are big believers in talking with children and modeling good choices.

"We need to change our attitudes that it's OK to drink, just don't drink and drive," Thompson said. "It's not OK."

"It starts when you conceive," Tyree said, "what you eat when you're pregnant, whether you buckle up. What we fight most is the attitude, whether it's domestic violence or drugs or drinking."

So talk with children continuously, they both urged, and start young.

"This is not a discussion you have [just] one time," Thompson said. "This is a high-risk behavior that happens more frequently than most parents want to believe."

Particularly in May and June, with graduations, end-of-school-year celebrations and summertime fun, parents need to make sure strong relationships lead to open discussions.

"I'm a believer in early and often," she said of those parent-child talks. "Don't sell your kid short on what they know."

And don't be shy about taking a stand.

"The bold message is to stop underage drinking," Tyree said. "We need to make it clear with kids … They will speak to you when they know things are clear."

This week's assemblies, edgy enough to capture students' attention and get them thinking about reality, are a good place to start.

"I'm a firm believer that kids are amazing people. They make great choices on a daily basis," Tyree said. "Bad choices are not an indicator of a bad kid. But they're going to make some bad choices and when we're talking about alcohol, they could die.

"Regardless of how you feel about the MADD issue, it's a talking point," she said.

"We all want our kids to be safe. That's what it's all about at the end of the day."

On the Web:

schoolassembly.org

Reporter Nancy Kimball may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com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bylineA100CAAAAAACC900000C9E6660CCCCCCCCAC280CCCCCC1AC90000200C40, body copyA100CAAAAAACC900000C9E6660CCCCCCCCAC20CCCCCC1ACC0000200C40,helvetica textA100CAAA0008000003CE0000000640,2Stone Sans40,0AAACCCCCCCCCCC10000001040,MNimrod40,AAAACCCCCCCCCCC10000001040,

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