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Frequently Asked Questions
about the Safe Home
Movement
Why do we need a SafeHomes Pledge?
Our young people are frequently faced with
pressures to use alcohol and illegal drugs. Over glamorized
advertising of alcohol and peer pressure combine to create an
acceptable environment for substance use by youth. While most
parents would agree that substance use is a risky behavior, many
parents struggle with setting limits that will protect their child
from this dangerous activity. SafeHomes is a tool to
addressing this problem.
SafeHomes is a parent networking
campaign based on the belief that to prevent a child from using
drugs, you need to create an atmosphere where drug use is not
acceptable. When parents join together and take a united stand
against drug use, they become much more effective than if they act
separately. Parents can benefit from the support of other
parents.
What is required if I
sign the SafeHomes Pledge?
Read the pledge with your
children. Explain to your children your commitment to live up to the
pledge. Then supervise teen social gatherings at your home and not
allow the use of alcohol and other drugs. The SafeHomes pledge will
be renewed on an annual basis.
If you choose, your name may be
distinguished in the student directory as a SafeHome parent. If a
parent sees that another parent has signed the Pledge, it provides
an opening for discussion regarding the home environment and
supervision of our children.
If I join SafeHomes,
won't my child think I don't trust him/her?
Trust does
not have to be "blind trust." Parents have every right to question
where their children are going, and what they are doing. We need to
realize that they are growing up in a world much different from the
one in which we grew up.
Members of SafeHomes can be open about
their activities with their children. They may tell their children
that they are members of a group because they care and want to be
informed about the world in which the child is living.
What if a family signs
and then violates the Pledge?
The SafeHomes Pledge is a
voluntary program and those who sign it are pledging on their
personal honor to abide by it. SafeHomes contracts are not legally
binding, but are statements of concern and intent. Parent Groups,
schools, and those who sign the pledge are not able to guarantee or
enforce compliance by others.
What about the teens who
choose to drink anyway regardless of the SafeHomes
Pledge?
We cannot stop all kids from drinking. That is
not the goal of SafeHomes. We wish to do three
things:
- Provide a safe social environment
for teens in OUR OWN HOMES.
- Send a clear, unambiguous message to
our children and all teens that we care about them.
- Inform other parents that if their
children come to our home, they will be supervised and alcohol and
other drugs use will not be
tolerated.
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