ROCKFORD, Mich. — If you plan on driving for your spring break getaway this year, it may provide the time you need to explain the dangers of drugs and alcohol to your children.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) unveiled Talk Sooner — its youth drug prevention campaign — in Rockford Tuesday. It’s a resource encouraging Michigan parents to “make the chatter matter” while taking the family on road trips.
“[A] car ride offers a lot of different ways to handle difficult conversations. You don't have to have direct eye contact. Sometimes you can do that side-eye when they're next to you,” explains Arbor Circle Prevention Manager Vicki Kavanaugh. “But it's more important that they see and hear you asking these questions.”
More than a quarter of Michiganders are estimated to take to the roads for spring break travel this year, according to data by AAA.
The Talk Sooner campaign stresses the importance of breaking the ice on drug-and-alcohol discussions as reports of usage increase among young people.
“Kids are vaping; kids are experimenting with all kinds of drugs and alcohol,” says MDOT Communication Representative John Richard. “So if they know how dangerous they are, it's really important. And you got to tell them, you know, they make you feel great sometimes but in the long run, they will destroy your lives and they destroy your families too.”
Nearly 7.5 million people stop at local rest stops and welcome centers annually, so organizers have put up posters at many locations throughout Michigan.
We're told it helps to hold conversations if you want to play a greater role in your child's decision making.