Red Ribbon Week is a national awareness week to promote conversations about substance use with kids. Young children are exposed to vapes in playgrounds, alcohol at family events and in restaurants, and are sometimes taken to our local hospitals after consuming marijuana edibles that they thought were candy... That's why it's so important to "talk early, talk often" with your kids. Educate them, tell them you want them to make good choices, and be a role model. Teach little kids not to eat or drink anything you haven't okayed... and practice refusal skills with older kids.
Starting a conversation with young children
For Red Ribbon Week, our Westport Prevention Coalition created an activity placemat for parents to do with their elementary aged children. It's intended to start discussions about the Trusted Adults in a child's life, coping skills, healthy vs unhealthy behaviors, safe vs unsafe drugs or substances, etc. You can download a letter-size version below (2 pages).
We want to give a shoutout to the following restaurants participating in this campaign by providing the placemat to young children during Red Ribbon Week:
Angelina's Trattoria
Bar Taco
Little Barn
Little Pub at Dunville's
The Porch at Christie's
Rizzuto's
Please consider bringing your kids there for a meal in the next week and thank them for participating!
At next week's Halloween Parade, the placemats will be distributed to children at Town Hall by the Westport Human Services staff, along with a parent info card and lollipop. Placemats are also available in the children's room at The Westport Library and at Aspetuck Health District. The Westport Center for Senior Activities is offering them to their members as an activity to do with their grandkids.
On behalf of The Norwalk Partnership, Positive Directions had a Red Ribbon Week parent awareness table last night at the Norwalk Public Library while children did a friendship craft. Parents had in-depth conversations about how to protect their young children, how and when to start talking about alcohol and drugs, and received resources such as Gizmo's Pawesome Guide to Mental Health, MADD's Power of Parents handbook, Liquor Stickers, lockbags to keep prescription drugs and/or cannabis safely locked up, information about the Talk.They Hear You app for parents, and more. We're also sending downloadable materials out to parents through Norwalk elementary schools.
Preventing access to drugs at home
Preventing substance misuse--including accidental or intentional overdose--starts at home. In addition to frequent conversations with children and teens, families should practice safe storage and safe disposal in their homes.
Safe storage involves keeping alcohol, prescription drugs, and cannabis safely out of reach of youth and locked up. You can install a lock on your liquor and medicine cabinets, use our Liquor Stickers to seal up unfinished bottles of alcohol, and get a lockbox or lockbag to store your Rx drugs and cannabis using a combination lock.
Safe disposal refers to regularly going through your medicine cabinet to identify unused or expired substances and get rid of them. Please don't flush them, though! Use a Deterra bag to disintegrate and deactivate the medication and then throw it in the trash. Or bring your prescription drugs to the dropbox at your police department. Also, tomorrow (Saturday, October 26th from 10am-2pm), Westport and most town police departments are holding National Drug Take-Back Day, where you can bring your drugs to be safely disposed of.
Contact our Prevention Director, Margaret Watt, for more information about liquor stickers, Deterra bags, or lockbags. Stay safe!
Download the RRW placemat to use with kids in your life!
Red Ribbon Week reminds us to educate kids about substance use early and consistently, emphasizing safety and good choices. Just as we practice refusal skills, staying proactive in guiding children builds their confidence. Similarly, when I need help to do my online class, seeking support ensures better outcomes through informed decisions.