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Fairfield Officials Urge Parents To Talk To Teens About Dangers Of Drinking

FAIRFIELD, Conn. -- Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau joined with Mothers Against Drunk Driving Connecticut in declaring April 21 as PowerTalk 21 day.

Amber Monck, program specialist for MADD, and Zoe Hochberg and Eliza Elliot of Fairfield Ludlowe High School meet with Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau, who is issuing the proclamation in Independence Hall.

Amber Monck, program specialist for MADD, and Zoe Hochberg and Eliza Elliot of Fairfield Ludlowe High School meet with Fairfield First Selectman Mike Tetreau, who is issuing the proclamation in Independence Hall.

Photo Credit: Town of Fairfield

April 21 is the nationally recognized day for parents to talk to their teens about the dangers of underage drinking. Nationwide is the national presenting sponsor, and GM Foundation is the national supporting partner.

Tetreau met with MADD Connecticut Teen Influencer Group members Eliza Elliot and Zoe Hochberg from Fairfield Ludlowe High School, and MADD's Connecticut Program Specialist Amber Monck to sign a proclamation declaring April 21 as PowerTalk 21 day.

“It is so important that groups like MADD are leading the way in the prevention of underage drinking," Tetreau said. "I applaud MADD, as well as our local high school students and police department, for being proactive in helping our youth and their parents understand the dangerous effects related to alcohol.”

A new MADD/Nationwide Survey shows that about a third of parents believe the ages in which to start talking with their children about alcohol are 14 to 18 while they are in high school.

But research shows children start weighing the pros and cons of underage drinking as early as age 8, as second- to third-graders while in elementary school, One in four middle school students have tried alcohol by the eighth grade.

MADD urges parents to start talking much earlier and to keep talking as those perceptions about alcohol continue to form and change through age 21.

“We know that parents – not peers – remain the biggest influence on their children when it comes to alcohol,” said Monck. “Underage drinking prevention is a cornerstone of MADD’s mission, and this new information proves that we need to better equip parents to start having conversations much earlier and more frequently than ever before.”

The addition of MADD’s new middle school handbook to the Power of Parents program equips parents with the tools they need to talk early and talk often with their children about alcohol, a message that evolves as children mature and their perceptions about alcohol change.

Visit www.madd.org/powerofparents to download a free copy of both the middle school and high school handbook.

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