Parents can be the single greatest influence in a youths decision not to smoke or use alcohol or drugs. Recent surveys show that, for many children, parents are the single biggest determinant in these decisions - stronger than that of friends, teachers and media. In short, the impact of parents is more important than commonly thought. Your power as a parent comes from several sources, and its effectiveness is marked by the time spent with your children and the consistency of the messages you give them.

Parents have enormous power over a child's well-being but too many fail to appreciate and use this power. Study after study has shown: Parental involvement makes a critical difference in children's lives. Parents can influence their children if they reach them early and if they continue to reinforce strong values and a positive message throughout their teen years.

Parents Have Great Influence:
For parents who believe they have little influence over their children, teens say their parents do influence them in resisting drugs while friends are the main influence for those who decide to use drugs. More teens who don't use marijuana (42%) credit their parents over any other influence. Yet 45% of parents think it is likely their teen will use an illegal drug in the future. Parental resignation often reflects their own prior drug-using behavior: among parents who used marijuana in their youth, 58% say they expect their teen to use an illegal drug in the future; of parents who never used pot, 29% expect their teen to try an illegal drug.

It's The Little Things That Count:
Too often parents feel overwhelmed by the number of events in their lives or think they will have little impact on their child's decision to smoke, drink or use drugs. But simple things can count. Parents should get involved with homework, parent-children projects, and extracurricular activities or attend religious services together. One of the best things parents can do for the well-being of their children is to regularly eat dinner together. Among teens who eat dinner with their parents six or seven times a week, 93 percent say they have not smoked a cigarette in the last month. That number drops among teens who eat with their families less. The same can be said for drinking: more than half of students who eat dinner with their parents six or seven times a week have not been to drinking parties in the last six months.

Teens who attend religious services four or more times a month are far less likely to smoke, drink or use drugs than teens who attend services less than once a month. Fifty-six percent of teens who attend four or more times say they will never use an illegal drug in the future compared to just 15% who attend services less than once a month.

© 1996, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University