The Todd County Drug Tip Line 1-800-731-1847
If you know of or suspect drug activity in Todd County please call the Todd County Drug Tip Line. Call the Tip Line if you see:
- Suspicious garbage dumping
- Unusual traffic patterns
- Strange behavior patterns
Leave as much detail as possible. You may remain anonymous or leave your name and telephone number for law enforcement to call back for further details.
Crisis and Referral Service 1-800-462-5525
Call this number if you or someone you know needs help or resource to deal with a substance abuse problem.
Sept. 22th 2008 is Family Day: A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Family
Family Day is a national movement to remind parents that what their kids really need at the dinner table is THEM! Family Day encourages parents to frequently eat dinner with their kids and be involved in their children's lives. The conversations that go hand-in-hand with dinner helps parents learn more about their kids' lives and helps them better understand the challenges their kids face.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University launched Family Day in 2001 after CASA's research consistently found that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.
CASA's 2006 report The Importance of Family Dinners III found that compared to kids who have fewer than three family dinners per week, children and teens who have 5-7 family dinners per week are:
- At 70 percent lower risk for substance abuse
- Half as likely to try cigarettes or marijuana
- One third less likely to try alcohol
- Half as likely to get drunk monthly
Kids who frequently eat dinner with their families are also likelier to have better grades and confide in their parents.
It is never too early to start the family dinner tradition. Begin making family dinners a regular feature of your daily routine today!
AS A FAMILY:
- Start a pattern of family dinners when children are young
- Encourage your children to create menu ideas and participate in meal preperations
- Turn off the TV and let your answering machine answer calls during dinnertime
- Talk about what happened in everyone's day: school, work, extracurricular activities or current events
- Establish a routine to start and end each meal. Light candles, say grace or tell a story.
- After dinner play a board game or serve dessert to encourage further conversation.
- Keep conversation positive and make sure everyone gets a chance to speak.
Regular family dinners aren't the only way to help keep your kids substance free. Here are some other important things you can do:
- Set a good example
- Know your child's whereabouts, activities and friends
- Set fair rules and hold your child to them
- Maintain open lines of communication
- Surround your child with postitive role models
- Learn the signs and symptoms of teen substance abuse and conditions that increase risk