Submitted by Washington Health Care Authority

As Washington families transition to online learning for the remainder of the academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, parents and caregivers may be feeling anxious and uncertain about how to support their families. Parents and caregivers play an important role in supporting the health and resiliency of the children in their lives, but might not know what that means or how to act.

The Washington Healthy Youth (WHY) Coalition supports families by providing up-to-date resources, including articles about talking to youth about the COVID-19 pandemic, links to virtual parenting sessions and seminars, and ideas for keeping youth busy and engaged while staying at home. Visit www.starttalkingnow.org to find these resources. They also are posted regularly on the Start Talking Now Facebook page (www.Facebook.com/StartTalkingNowWA/).

Anxiety, stress and boredom can also lead teenagers and youth to experiment with drugs and alcohol. The good news is parents are also the number one influencer on youth’s decisions to use substances. At StartTalkingNow.org, parents and other caring adults can find resources on how to start the conversation about not using substances, and how monitoring by parents and bonding as a family are proven strategies to delay substance use.

About the WHY Coalition

Start Talking Now is supported by the Washington State Health Care Authority and maintained by the WHY Coalition. The WHY Coalition is a group of state agencies and organizations working to prevent youth alcohol and marijuana in Washington State. To learn more about the WHY Coalition, visit TheAthenaForum, the state site for substance abuse prevention and mental health promotion professionals and volunteers.