Summer vacation often means little or no structure for teenagers, which is one of the reasons they love summer. But the lack of structure can lend itself to unhealthy experiments.

"...there is a 40 percent increase in first-time youth marijuana use during June and July compared to the rest of the year. 'When there is more freedom, this is also more temptation,' Pathway Family Center said in a statement released on Tuesday. 'Statistics show that youthful experimentation with drugs, tobacco, and alcohol is more likely to occur during an unsupervised time when teens are alone or with their peers.'"

Parents can take proactive and preventative steps by planning summer activities for the entire family, encouraging their kids to continue afterschool activities into the summer, enrolling in summer camp or a wilderness program, and getting know their kids' friends and families.Source: Chesterton Tribune

Not sure what your teen will be doing this summer? Visit SummerCampsInfo.com for a list of teen summer camps or AlternativeSummerCamps.com for alternative summer camp programs.

Labels: first-time_users, marijuana, summer