A lot more than just saying no

We look at a tough topic this week, Asset #31, Restraint. According to the Search-Institute, “Youth are more likely to grow up healthy when they believe it is important not to be sexually active or to use alcohol or other drugs.”

The key to being successful in this area is conversation and education. When I sat on a local board looking at poor youth choices, I suggested that we get some kids to join us that were in trouble and not just high achievers. There were adults in the room that looked at me as if I were from another planet.

The truth is, we could probably come up with a short list of what makes kids successful, but not necessarily what would have diverted youth on to the good path instead of making bad decisions. I can tell you what made me a “good kid,” even though I wasn’t perfect. The answer to that question was that my parents would have simply beaten the devil out of me.

Yes, that’s exactly what I mean; there would have been no discussion, no negotiation. I was lucky in that I was the youngest of three and the first two were boys, so I didn’t need to be the sharpest tool in the shed to catch on to how to survive the teen years.

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