The Campus and Community Coalition against High Risk Drinking is hosting a panel for parents this Saturday, June 2, at 1 p.m. at the Chapel Hill Public Library about how to have conversations with your kids surrounding high-risk behaviors like drinking and driving.

Director of the coalition Elinor Landess said the panel is geared toward parents with middle to high school-aged kids but that it’s never too early to start thinking about to how to plant those seeds and have those conversations.

“Summer is a time when young people have more freedom than during the academic year, and so it’s a time that some of these high-risk decisions are made,” Landess said. “And so we want to encourage parents and empower parents with information that they need to have these good conversations.”

Chapel Hill High School counselor Jim Wise said Memorial Day to Labor Day is considered the 100 most dangerous days for young people. According to Wise, the event will feature a number of different panelists.

“They can speak to a number of different aspects,” he said of the panelists. “We have someone from law enforcement, a therapist who can talk about some of the mental health aspects; we have our director of school safety who will talk about some issues around teen sexuality, and I’ll be addressing some things around drug alcohol concerns.”

Landess said they are grateful that good research has been done on the topic that has provided good tips.

“Start early and often, but keep those conversations short,” Landess said. “These do not need to be long, drawn-out conversations, and they can be sparked by and ad that comes on the radio or asking, ‘Hey, have you heard about x event?’ or ‘Hey, have you heard kids at school talking about x, y or z behavior?’

“So, just quick, taking an opportunity to quickly introduce a conversation and keeping that conversation brief, letting your kid know that you care and making your expectations clear are some of the things that the research has shown to be really effective,” Landess said.

You can find the Chapel Hill Campus and Community Coalition on Facebook or at their website.

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