You can t talk to them about that because they don t understand, says Meredith. In a nationwide survey conducted by Uhlich Children s Home, teens gave parents below average grades on their efforts to stop teens from using alcohol, tobacco and drugs. The survey called the Uhlich Report Card was conducted through a self-executing mail interview in the first two months of 2000. Teenagers were asked to grade adults effectiveness in nineteen categories. Adults also received below average grades for running the government and getting rid of gangs.
Kids say adults efforts are ineffective because parents often use heavy discipline which backfires.
Parents also punish kids for smoking, drinking and drugs while kids watch parents using the substances themselves. Experts remind parents that as a child matures, hard line rules without explanation are usually ineffective. Teens need to understand the reasons for their family s values and why certain behavior is inappropriate. Know Kids say when it comes to drinking, smoking and doing drugs, most parents model bad behavior. The Uhlich Children s Home asked kids about parents efforts to stop drinking, smoking and drug use.