Parents have found their voice in Anderson Twp! Shortly before Christmas, over 450 parents and teens came together to actually talk about underage drinking in their community. Underage drinking is not a new problem to this community, or any other neighborhood around town. The difference this time was that parents were acknowledging the big elephant in the living room. This is a huge step necessary to bring about change in a community's tolerance of this problem.

The beauty of the dialog that happened on the evening of December 15 is that no blame was laid. Parents walked away with a feeling of empowerment, a feeling that the silent majority had been heard. We know that, on average, most kids don't drink. We also know that kids will make mistakes and, sometimes, poor decisions. But we are the parents! And it is our job to keep our kids as safe and healthy as we possibly can. No other person has the right to take that parental responsibility away from us. After all, "There's Nothing Cute About Underage Drinking."

Be the Parent. Let's sustain the wave that has started in Anderson and spread it across the county and beyond. You, too, can help to create a" new normal" where parents:

• Set rules and expectations with their teens related to alcohol use
• Communicate & share those same expectations with parental peers
• Are good role models of appropriate adult drinking behavior and parenting behavior
• Are aware and educated about the problem of underage drinking
• Reach out and get help from each other and professionals when needed
• Watch for behavior changes in your teen and not enable them
• Put barriers in the way to teen access to alcohol and prescription drugs
• Get involved and work with law enforcement to keep kids safe

For more information and a complete list of tips for creating the “New Normal” in your family, visit www.gosaga.org.  To learn more about this initiative and other Coalition strategies in Anderson contact SAGA Executive Director, Rhonda Ramsey Molina or SAGA President, Cheryl Lett.

For more information, visit www.drugfreecincinnati.org. To get involved in a coalition in your neighborhood, contact tkoopman@drugfreecincinnati.org.