NOMS Fall Newsletter

Celebrate Family Day
A Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children
September 26, 2011
What your kids really want at the dinner table is . . .YOU!
Family Day is a national movement to inform parents that frequent family dinners together are an effective way to keep kids drug free.  Dinners make a difference!
Did you know . . .
        
Kids who have frequent family dinners are likelier to get better grades in school AND are likelier to say that they have an excellent relationship with their parents.
         
Kids who have frequent family dinners are less likely to smoke, drink or use other drugs AND are less likely to have friends that use illicit drugs or misuse prescription drugs.
For more ways to celebrate Family Day, or for information on talking with your child about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, visit www.casafamilyday.org.

Social Media or Social Madness?

Social Media can be a great way for tweens and teens to share ideas, communicate with friends, share pictures and videos and reach out to peers all over the world.  It can also pose dangers to tweens and teens when not used appropriately.  Online bullying can result in depression or suicide, child predators can lurk in chat rooms, waiting for the opportunity to MIRL (meet in real life) and information and pictures placed online can affect students’ future college and job applications.  As parents, we would never send our kids out to drive without education, practice and oversight – we need to make sure we don’t send them online without those things, too.

Here are some tips for keeping tween and teens safe online . . .
Know where your child goes online, visit the sites they visit
Limit time online – make sure kids are spending at least one hour in physical activity
Keep computers in main areas, not in kids’ rooms
Make sure your kids know what information NOT to share with anyone online, and that all the information they do share cannot be removed
Encourage your kids to report cyberbullying, and not to participate in it!  Don’t say anything online that you would  not  say in person
Educate yourself and your teen/tween – check out online resources for more tips on how to keep your kids safe online
Know the acronyms . . .see the list below and watch for certain phrases

9         Parent is watching
182          I Hate You
AITR/PITR Adult in the room/Parent in the room
H8TTU Hate to be you
IGHT I got high tonight
KPC        Keeping parents clueless
MIRL Meet in real life
MOS Mother over shoulder
PAW Parents are watching
P911 Parent coming into room alert
WTGP Want to go private
YBS You’ll be sorry


Flu Season is Upon Us!
The #1 Way to Protect Yourself from the FLU is to
get a FLU Shot every year!
Call the Oldham County Health Department at 222-3516 for more information!
Flu Shots available for only $18!