TV REVIEW : On Keeping Your Kids Off Drugs
Drug-related tragedies are everyday media fare, but somehow the message isn’t getting through. For a down-to-earth basic guide to keeping kids out of the drug and alcohol loop, tune in at 10 tonight to HBO’s “How to Raise a Drug-Free Child.”
Disregard the portentous score. The value in this no-nonsense half-hour, hosted straightforwardly by Mary Tyler Moore, is its clarity.
The first part of the program shows who the young victims are--there are no class boundaries--and how, when, where and why they start using drugs and alcohol. Peer pressure is the No. 1 “why.”
The second section shows parents the drugs--marijuana, cocaine, crack, LSD, tranquilizers, inhalants and other drugs--and drug paraphernalia. It shows how the drugs are used and lists drug-use symptoms.
The show concludes with advice on how to prevent kids from becoming involved (parents have to realize their own behavior is part of the process) and ways to handle it if they do.
The idea, expressed with forthright simplicity here, is to arm parents with knowledge and give kids a fighting chance.
The show will also play on HBO Thursday, Sunday, May 23, May 27 and May 31.
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