On Wednesday, 8th March 2023, HSE’s drugs.ie will host a webinar titled ‘Parents Matter: the role of parents in substance prevention and education’ as part of an ongoing campaign ‘Parents Matters’ to promote information about substances to parents.

This webinar will take place for parents of children and adolescents living in Dublin North City and County and is the first in a series of webinars taking place this year.

The overall series will highlight the important role that parents can have on young people’s attitudes and behaviours towards substance use and local support services.

Prof Bobby Smyth, Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, HSE Addiction Services says: “Our aim is to support the parents of children and adolescents across different areas in Ireland. While parents are just one of many influences upon substance use by adolescents, we know that parents are the most important single influence.

“Families have the potential to act as a major protective force in the lives of children and adolescents. Mutually supportive family relationships generally influence the prevention of substance use among young people.”

Hildegarde Naughton, Minister of State for Public Health, Well Being and the National Drugs Strategy, said: “Drug prevention and education is a key priority in the Government’s health-led approach to drug use. It protects children and young people from the harms of drug use and increases resilience, life skills and healthy life choices. This parents’ webinar series can contribute to drug prevention and education by assisting parents to positively influence their children’s values, attitudes and behaviours relating to drug use.”

This online event will support parents to understand:

• The current drug and alcohol landscape, including the latest drug trends such as cannabis edibles and other substances of concern
• Their role in supporting healthy decision making by their children
• The reasons why we seek to delay or avoid young people’s entry into the world of alcohol and drug use
• The steps which parents can take to reduce the likelihood that their son or daughter develops a substance use problem
• The HSE Adolescent Addiction Service’s experiences in working with young people
• The information and support options for concerned parents in their local areas

Information relating to the event and a registration link for parents is available on drugs.ie/parents. Copies of the ‘Alcohol and Drugs – A Parent’s Guide’ are available for parents to order on healthpromotion.ie.  

Source HSE.ie (Ireland, March 2023)