January is National Mentoring Month

    National Mentoring Month is a celebration that commemorates mentoring and its positive influences on young lives. Parents are their child's best and most influential mentor; however, parents are encouraged to honor other positive role models in their kids' lives and help them identify opportunities to develop beneficial relationships with other trusted adults. Middle school children were recently surveyed, and results were published by The Safe and Drug-Free Schools Consortium in the 2003 Primary Prevention Awareness, Attitude & Use Survey.

    Statistics from the survey include:

• The average age of first use of alcohol and tobacco was 11.

• Four times as many children in 7th and 8th grade report drinking alcohol at least once a week as compared to 6th graders.

• 3% report smoking tobacco at least once a month.

• Four times as many children in 7th and 8th grade report smoking cigarettes daily as compared to 6th graders.

• The average age of first use of marijuana was 12.

• Smoking marijuana once a month or more increased from 1% of 6th graders to 5% of 7th and 8th grade children.

    For the full Survey visit:

 www.edcouncil.org/programs/drugfree/ppaaus/index.htm.

    For more information from visit www.helpthemknow.com

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