Introduction When children reach middle school, they enter a period of rapid growth and change—physically, emotionally, and socially. During this exciting time, parents face new challenges and opportunities to guide their children toward making healthy choices. Research shows that many kids ages 11-14 are already being exposed to alcohol and cannabis, even if they aren’t using these substances themselves. At this age, they begin forming their beliefs and expectations about them. While alcohol is commonplace in adult settings, it remains a serious risk for young people, leading to more accidents and deaths than all other illegal substances combined. Cannabis laws are also changing, creating confusion about its safety—especially for growing brains. We created this handbook to help parents have meaningful conversations with their middle schoolers about alcohol, cannabis, and prescription medication misuse. Since every family is different, you may find certain sections more relevant than others, and that’s okay. Use what works best for you and start the conversation now—it can make all the difference.
For young people, alcohol leads to more accidents and deaths than all other illegal substances combined.
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