Red Ribbon Week
Celebrate Red Ribbon Week with Your Child!
 During
the week of October 22-26, your child will be celebrating Red
Ribbon Week at Madison Elementary. Here is some information
for you to better understand the purpose and importance of Red Ribbon
Week.
In class your child will be discussing the importance of making
good choices, what peer pressure is, factual information about certain
drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, and how they can say “NO”
to drugs in an assertive manner. All of these activities will be
age appropriate for your child. In order for the students to get
the most of the week and to bring the learning process full circle
we want to include you. If you have any questions or would like
further information please feel free to contact the school counselor,
Kimberly Pappas, at 310-798-8623 or kpappas@rbusd.org.
The themes for the week are:
- Mon 22 - Team Up Against Drugs - Wear your
favorite team jersey
- Tue 23 - Hugs Not Drugs! - Bring your favorite
stuffed animal to school AND Drug Free The Healthy
Way To Be - bring a healthy and appropriate snack to
school
- Wed 24 - Turn Your Back to Drugs - Wear clothes
backwards.
- Thu 25 - Put Drugs to Sleep - Wear your P.J.s.
- Fri 26 - Be the Best You Can Be…Drug Free!
- Wear red to school!
and... Halloween - Say Boo to Drugs, Don’t Be Tricked,
Drugs Are Not Treats!
Look in your Thursday packet for more
information and activities that you can do at home. Really encourage
your child to participate in the spirit days and make sure to talk
to them each day to ask what they learned or did at school. Let
this week be a spring board for meaning conversations at home about
the importance of staying drug, tobacco and alcohol free!
Drug Free Pledge
 |
I pledge allegiance to myself
and who I want to be.
I can make my dreams come true, if I believe
in me.
I pledge to stay in school and learn the
things I need to know
To make the world a better place for kids
like me to grow.
I promise to keep my dreams alive, and be
all that I can be.
I know I can and that’s because
I pledge to stay alcohol,
tobacco and drug free! |
Brief Introduction and History
The week is celebrated in honor of Enrique Camarena who was a
Federal drug enforcement officer and was killed by drug traffickers
while being held hostage in Mexico in 1985. The National
Family Partnership started the first Red Ribbon Week in 1988.
The Red Ribbon symbolizes the commitment to a healthy, drug free
lifestyle. Although some illicit drug use has declined, marijuana
and underage tobacco and alcohol use are rising at alarming rates.
Now more than ever, we must continue to wage the war on drugs. It
is believed that change starts at home with oneself, and that each
person that makes this commitment is making progress on the war
against drugs. The Red Ribbon Celebration is building the bridge
from awareness to action. We can all be bridge
builders!
Kids aged 4-12 aren’t ordinarily into hard-core drinking,
drugs, or smoking - though it happens. According to the White House
Drug Abuse Policy Office, children feel pressure to use drugs and
drink alcohol by the fourth grade. The average age for trying alcohol
is age 11. The average age for starting smoking marijuana is 12.
The best armor we can give our children is good self-esteem. If
children feel loved and valued, if they know their own feelings
and opinions matter, they won’t need to try to feel good with
the use of artificial substances. They will trust their own good
judgement and have the inner strength to withstand the peer pressure.
Key Terms
Choices: This is a very important idea for children.
Making choices provides a child the opportunity to make decisions
that will yield certain consequences. Help children start to practice
and realize what their choices are and what the possible consequences
might be. When the situation is appropriate allow them to make choices
at home, i.e. what clothes to wear, what they would like for dinner,
which book they would like to read, etc. Children feel empowered
when they are able to make choices. This will allow them the experience
and confidence to make more challenging choices when you are not
right there.
Peer Pressure: Peer pressure can best be described
as a friend trying to persuade other friends to participate in certain
act. This can be very subtle and/or silent at times. Children want
to feel that they belong and are part of a group, so often they
feel that it is necessary to participate in activities to be accepted.
Our job is to teach children that their self worth is determined
by how they as individuals see themselves, not by what others think
of them.
Things to Do as the Parent
- Ask your child to pay attention to some of the choices they
make during the day. Ask what the situation was, what they chose
to do, what the consequences were, what else they could have done
and what the consequences might have been for the other choices.
Use hypothetical situations to role-play possible situations of
peer pressure to help them build their confidence and a few “pat”
answers to say in uncomfortable situations.
- Educate yourself on the harmful effects of the “gateway”
drugs: tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana. It is important for you
to be a credible source of information for your child to talk
to. If you do not know the answer to a question tell them that
you will find it out and share with them after. It is never too
early to begin discussing these issues. You can begin talking
about the dangers of bad drugs as early as kindergarten, gradually
providing more information as your child is able to understand
it. For older children begin to explain the laws about underage
drinking, smoking and illicit drug use. Make sure they understand
what the consequences can be. Older children can handle and understand
information about the effects of using drugs and alcohol and how
it impairs their judgement and functioning. Real life examples
can really get the message across. Research shows that the age
of experimentation starts younger and younger when kids have the
feeling and belief that they are invincible.
- Keep the communication lines open between you and your child.
Make sure that your child feels comfortable to come and talk with
you about anything. Open communication develops family unity,
self-confidence, and decision-making skills. Listen to what your
child is saying and ask open ended question (not questions that
can be answered with yes or no). Most conflicts and crisis’
result from a lack of communication.
- Give lots of praise. Emphasize things your child is doing “right”
instead of focussing on the negative as much. When parents are
quick to praise instead of criticize, children learn to feel good
about themselves, and they develop the self-confidence to trust
their own judgement.
- Be aware of the outside influences your child is exposed to
through television and friends. Talk with them about what they
are seeing and ask questions about how they feel and what they
think.
- Have clear and consistent behavior rules and expectations.
Let them know what the consequences will be if they choose not
to follow then and enforce them. Try not to make promises or discipline
guidelines that you can not keep. At an early age, explain the
family rules about drugs and alcohol.
- Know who your children are friends with. Meet their parents
and get to know what their values are. Have their friends over
so you can get to know them.
- Promote positive, active alternatives for your children to
participate in. Help them discover activities that are fulfilling.
Again children need to feel included and that they belong to a
group. Children that do not belong to positive groups often find
themselves taken in by the groups that are not making positive,
healthy choices. Children need structure; children left with too
much free time, not enough supervision or structure are more at
risk of making poor choices.
- Evaluate your own habits and your own ability to “say
no” to adult peer pressure. The “do as I say, not
as I do” philosophy does not work. Remember that you are
a role model in everything you say and do. Children often imitate
our behaviors. Therefore, nothing is more convincing than teaching
by example.
- Don’t be naïve to think that your child would never
use drugs or would have to make these choices. Almost all children
are faced with the difficult choice eventually. Just some are
sooner than others. Even if the choice is postponed until they
are of legal age for tobacco and alcohol, we want to have instilled
in them healthy habits and a respect for themselves to make good
choices all through their life.
Further Information
For more information about Red Ribbon Week 2007, please visit the
following websites:
US
Drug Enforcement Administration Red Ribbon Campaign
National Family Partnership
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