When the subject is seventh graders, common associations include teenage melodrama, braces and perhaps a face covered in pimples. What some people may not know is that seventh grade is the average age at which kids begin experimenting with drugs. Project 7th Grade is trying to change that.
The Wood River Middle School PTA will host Project 7th Grade on Thursday, Oct. 16, at 6:30 p.m. All parents are encouraged to participate.
Founded in 2004, Project 7th Grade is a national nonprofit organization that works to educate parents, schools and children about the perils of drug use and abuse. The program is part of the organization notMYkid, founded in 2000 and dedicated to helping communities with adolescent behavioral health issues.
Each Project 7th Grade presentation focuses on the role of parents in preventing drug use. In particular, parents learn how to communicate with their children as well as get basic information about drug issues, trends and terminology. Each participant will also receive a First Check drug-test kit, which tests for seven illicit and five prescription drugs. Using drug testing as a deterrent is heavily emphasized in the program.
"Project 7th Grade is unique because it encourages proactive, two-way communications between parent and child to prevent drug use before it has a chance to occur," said Lacy Lowrey, manager of national program development for Project 7th Grade, in a prepared statement.
A 2008 report from Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse shows that kids are most susceptible to peer pressure and drug use during grades 5-9. Additionally, children ages 12-17 have said prescription drugs are easier to get than beer, while 65 percent of those who abuse prescription drugs said they got them from their home or a friend's house.
