3/6/08
‘Planting Seeds’ seminar to grow awareness of effects of underage alcohol and tobacco use
By Jerriod Grizzle

Manning Times Illustration Photo

Underage drinking and tobacco use continue to be a problem in Clarendon County. The March 13 “Planting Seeds” seminar, sponsored by the Clarendon County Tobacco Free Kids Coalition will address the problem and offer solutions for parents, educators and social service professionals.

What worries members of the Clarendon County Tobacco Free Kids (CC-TFK) Coalition are the children of Clarendon County and the dangers they face everyday with drugs, alcohol and the Internet.

In a partnership with Communities in Schools of Clarendon County the CC-TFK is presenting a program designed to help attendees understand and help combat these dangers in the community.

“We are hoping it brings insight on drugs and alcohol and its usage among the youth and how we can prevent it,” said Communities in Schools Executive Director Jennifer Canty-Wright. The “Planting Seeds: Protecting the Growth of Our Children” seminar will be hed on March 13 at the F.E. DuBose Career Center auditorium.

The seminar will include three sessions designed to cover underage alcohol use, the Alive at 25 program and Internet crimes against children.

“We want people to be more aware about what our kids and our teenagers are faced with in society and gain insight about ways they can protect their children,” said CC-TKF Chair Bridgett Epperson.

The first session, “New Fads in Teen Alcohol Use,” will look at the new trends in underage alcohol use. The session will provide updated statistics and information on teen alcohol use and review emerging products. The session will also take a look at the way that advertisers market alcoholic beverages to children and teenagers.

“There are new laws on the books. If you give a child alcohol or if alcohol is at your party and a child consumes it you and everyone else will go to jail,” Epperson said.

Epperson said she is especially worried about advertising trends these days because of new alcoholic drinks that resemble fruit punch.

Session two, “Striving for change with Alive at 25,” will cover the Alive at 25 course designed to help teens understand the dangers of drinking and driving.

Designed by the National Safety Council the program is aimed at preventing the number one killer of teens – drunk driving.

The program will explain the recent worldview in decision making that young drivers display behind the wheel. The instructors in the program hold candid conversations with students about what can happen if they practice risky behavior.

Session three, “Internet Crimes Against Children,” will emphasize safety resources that are available for parents. The program aims to teach people on how easily predators on the Internet can find children online and then how they are able get the children to meet them in real life. The program will explore this practice through examples and provide updated information about the danger to children.

“Parents need to be aware of what children are typing on the Internet. They have to be aware of slang terms and just how easy it is for predators to entice children,” Epperson said.

Epperson said that after the program she hopes that attendees will go home more informed and better able to communicate with their children about the dangers that young people face today.

“It is not just a parental problem, it is a community wide problem and we need to be there for our kids,” she said.

The seminar will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and includes lunch. There is no cost, but registration is required. Registration deadline is March 5. For more information contact Bridgett Epperson at 433-7233.