Kitchen Conversations Prevent Youth Drug Use
"The substance abuse epidemic is at a stage where prevention needs to start at the kitchen table in
every household." – Dr. Faisal Kahn, Director, Public Health- Seattle and King County
Influence the Choice joins Seattle-King County Public Health in encouraging residents to start “kitchen table conversations” with family, friends and loved ones as a proven method of preventing drug misuse, addiction, and death. Last year in King County, over 1,000 people died from opioid overdoses. Some 60% of those deaths were related to intentional or accidental fentanyl use. In King County a teen dies of overdose about every two weeks. Fentanyl is a highly addictive drug that is flooding our region through numerous means.
Influence the Choice tips on how to initiate, navigate and continue kitchen table conversations about substance abuse:
General Tips:
- Initiate a brief dialogue.
- Keep it short (so it doesn’t become a lecture).
- Listen and learn; let others know you are paying attention to their perspectives.
- You don’t have to have all the answers.
- Keep the conversation age-appropriate.
- A bunch of little conversations are better than “the big conversation.”
- It’s never too early or too late to talk with your loved ones about drugs.
Some words to use as conversation starters:
- If you have observed worrisome behavior, say: “I’ve noticed that . . . . “
- Tying the conversation to something happening in the community, to something happening in the news or on social media, say “Have you heard about . . .”
- To keep the conversation more general, say “Have your friends ever talked about . . . “ or “What do the kids at school say about . . . “
- If the person is heading for a party, event or just hanging out, say “Before you go . . .”
- And the all-purpose, “Did you know. . .”
Some information resources:
- King County Public Health Overdose Prevention Dashboard: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/health/overdose-prevention/data.aspx
- Issaquah School District Healthy Youth Survey 2021: https://www.isd411.org/about-us/reportsand-surveys/hys
- “Talk, They Hear You” campaign videos, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA): https://www.samhsa.gov/talk-they-hear-you
- SAMHSA has a mobile app for talking with your kids about substance use, complete with conversation starters: Mobile Application | SAMHSA
- Drug Enforcement Agency “One Pill Can Kill” social media campaign: https://www.dea.gov/deaone pill-can-kill-social-media-campaign
End the conversation with expressions of expectation and caring. “I don’t want you to use or abuse
drugs because . . .“
- I love you.
- I want you to stay alive.
- I want you to be healthy.
- I don’t want you to become dependent on alcohol or drugs.
- I want you to be happy, just the way you are.