I  saw this article in this months Pediatrics Journal. It didn’t surprise me, but I had hoped differently.

The sexual behavior of virginity pledgers does not differ from that of closely matched nonpledgers, and pledgers are less likely to protect themselves from pregnancy and disease before marriage. Virginity pledges may not affect sexual behavior but may decrease the likelihood of taking precautions during sex.

I always believe in discussing things openly with teens, and on this topic we always discuss the pros and cons of teen sexual activity.  (If you only talk about the negatives in an attempt to scare or intimidate, expect them to ignore you completely… the same is true of discussing drugs and alcohol).

Now, getting them to make “deals” or “promises” is always a good thing. We do the same with them all the time as a way of teaching responsibility and trust.

But when it comes to sexual activity, the studies now show that the “pledges” that they make, though probably made with true intent and strength of will at the time, do nothing to reduce the actual prevalence of sexual activity in teens.

I believe the same is probably true of drugs and alcohol.

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Last week on 980 WCAP we had Mike Miles, a drug and alcohol counselor, in to discuss the drug GHB that the state had recently warned Massachusetts Department of Families and Children Foster parents about.

This week, we got another notice about a type of crystal methamphetamine that is going around:

This is a new drug known as ‘strawberry quick ‘.

There is a very scary thing going on in the schools right now that we all need to be aware of.

There is a type of crystal meth going around that looks like strawberry pop rocks (the candy that sizzles and ‘pops’ in your mouth). It also smells like strawberry and it is being handed out to kids in school yards. They are calling it strawberry meth or strawberry quick.

Kids are ingesting this thinking that it is candy and being rushed off to the hospital in dire condition. It also comes in chocolate, peanut butter, cola, cherry, grape and orange.

Please instruct your children not to accept candy from strangers and even not to accept candy that looks like this from a friend (who may have been given it and believed it is candy) and to take any that they may have to a teacher, principal, etc. immediately.

Last week I noted the need from Lowell Catholic for host families for international high school students. This is a great opportunity for your family to learn about other cultures and share our own with a student from another country.

I’ve had a child attend this school and found the personal attention and individual support the best I had ever seen in a school system.

Every teacher I spoke with knew just about every student, and all had the needs of every student at heart.

The school runs a program based on values that I believe in, and thus I hope we can find more community support of students who want to attend.

Foster Parenting

This morning’s News Briefs in the Lowell Sun, as well as recent ads on 980 WCAP are calling for more foster parents.

A private agency, Dare Family Services, will be holding a cookout in Chelmsford this weekend to promote its mentor program at the  home of Marian and Jim Peretti. This will be from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm on Littleton Road in Chelmsford. You can contact them at 980-996-5055.

The Dare Family Services programs pay a considerable amount more to be a foster parent with their company than does the state (nearly $50.00 a day vs the state standard of about $18.00). The children are covered by state medical and dental coverage.

With state revenues falling, department cutbacks and a low level of morale at the state agencies, I’ve noted a significant turnover of state social workers and a definite cutback in the volunteer foster parents who make this program run.

The state has no greater responsibility than to those children that it has taken from their parents, and has decided over the years to share that responsibility with the citizens of the state (knowing that the best place to raise a child is within a home, not a warehouse).

If you have an interest, call the Parettis, or call the local DSS office at 1-800-KIDS-508 for more information.

As they were made of Brox Industries sand, as reported in the Lowell Sun last week, I took the opportunity to visit Hampton Beach today to get some pictures from the annual Sand Scupture Competition.

Not really a big Dracut story, but it is another example of the kind of events held here in New England that families can go out to see for free (well, with a little gas costs..).

In a fascinating study reported in Pediatrics, The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, teens were surveyed as to their perception as to what causes such a large number of automobile accidents, and then questioned as to what behaviors they had actually witnessed.

The goal of the study was “to explore the adolescent perspective on driving safety to provide a better understanding of factors that influence safety and teenage exposure to driving hazards.”

The fact is, automobile accidents are the “leading cause of fataility and acquired disability in adolescents.” Too many teen drivers are just found to be inexperenced. But did the teens see this?

When asked what situations “made a lot of difference” in driving safety, the top responses the teens returned were:

• Driver drinking alcohol
• Driver text messaging, playing a video game, or other hand held electronic device
• Driver is racing
• Driver is smoking marijuana
• Driver shows road rage
• Driver is distracted by passengers
• Other unsafe drivers on the road

and the list goes on.
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Its a very tough issue. As the kids get older, have graduated high school and are off in college.. it hits.

Drinking becomes commonplace.. and you can’t seem to stop it.

On any weekend night in Pelham, Dracut and Lowell, you can find parties in the woods or in one of many apartments across the cities and towns. The police break some up, have the kids picked up by their parents if things get too out of hand.. and disregard some as long as they don’t get out of hand.

An editorial in the Eagle Tribune reacts to another drinking party, another set of mixed messages.

Underage drinking is a serious crime. A majority of the public has demanded that police treat it so.

But the public has shown itself to be inconsistent on the issue. After too many alcohol-related teen deaths on the highways, people demanded and got zero-tolerance policies on underage drinking. But zero-tolerance, it seems, is only what people want when it doesn’t involve their own kids.

As a parent, I set some rules. There is no underage drinking in my house. None. The old game “at least they’ll be here and not out in the streets” or “I’ll keep the keys” only gives a mixed message that you don’t consider the issue to be significant.

Our role as parents is to instill values.. and that doesn’t end at 18.

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The Lowell Sun

PELHAM — Five teenagers are charged with underage drinking after police broke-up a house party on Surrey Lane early Sunday morning.

Responding to an anonymous report of an underage drinking party in progress, police found nearly a dozen 11 juveniles in a detached garage at the scene.

Police spoke with the juveniles and determined that five had consumed alcohol. There were no adults present at the residence.

Police contacted the parents of all of the juveniles, who came to the residence to pick up their children.

The following individuals have been charged: Alex McKinney, 17, of Pelham; Daniel Sweeney, 18, of Pelham; Deanna Carnazzo, 18, of Pelham; Alyssia Carrier, 17, of Pelham; and Justin Shepley, 17, of Windham.

The five will be arraigned at the Salem District Court on May 12 at 8 a.m.

Eagle Tribune Editorial

Does our society take underage drinking seriously or not? We need to make up our collective minds. One recent story — and reaction to it — indicates that we have not yet done so.

Early on the morning of Saturday, April 26, Lawrence police received a call of a possible home invasion. When they arrived at the apartment at 62 Hillside Ave., they found a large puddle of blood outside. They also found dozens of empty beer cans and liquor bottles in the apartment along with 10 young people who were not of legal drinking age.

So from the point of view of the police, they had two alleged crimes on their hands: the home invasion and the underage drinking. They are investigating both. They plan to issue criminal summonses for those suspected of underage drinking.

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by Dennis Shaughnessey, The Valley Dispatch

I called my wife from work the other day and asked her one question:

“Hi Honey. Hey listen, how would you feel about adopting a little boy?”

There was extended silence on the other end of the phone.

“Honey? You there?”

Diane and I are probably past our child-rearing years, but there’s this helpless, little boy from Middleboro who has probably never known a single day of love in the seven years he’s been alive.

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