Spring Break Equals Make or Break Conversation with Teens.

Remember when spring break was a lot like an Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon movie?

It was bikinis and short shorts, surfboards, and fun on the sand.

But very little today resembles Beach Blanket Bingo.   In fact, our kids' spring break habits are more reflective of the American Pie franchise, or the Project X movie currently playing in theaters.

While many teenagers enjoy a clean and healthy time off, other kids use spring break as a time to experiment with drinking and drug use.   The week long break from school provides them with plenty of time home alone.     

Spring break used to be the big time for family vacations.   But fewer families are taking off this year.   The economy has hit families hard and rising gas prices are keeping road trips stuck in the garage.   That translates to fewer parents taking the week off of work.

When I was a teen addict, I knew I couldn't wait for the first chance where I got an hour or two alone.   Even as a beginning user, I was able to sneak my experimentation during the times when my parents would be at work, or run errands.

25-years ago we didn't have cell phones to check up on our kids, like we do today.   Our kids are far more accessible to us, even when they are out.    But that may also create a false sense of security.   Just because we can reach our kids, doesn't mean we can prevent them from doing drugs.

It's important for parents to discuss responsible choices with their kids.  It seems obvious to most parents, so they rarely discuss drinking and drugs.   But there are new threats out there.

Synthetic marijuana is wildly popular with teens.   It goes by various names, Ivory Wave, K2, and Spice.   Some teens use these products because they think these substitutes are "not drugs."   Other teens use it to get around a real marijuana drug test that screens for THC.

But those products are far more harmful than the real thing, because they are constant changing chemical combinations.   Even as the government tries to outlaw them, the chemists continue to modify to keep these products legal.

Spring break should be a time when our kids can get away from the stress in school and enjoy a week away from the books.   Their fun should be healthy and safe.   Drinking and drug use for teenagers is not a "rite of passage" as some parents believe.    

The summers of Frankie and Annette are long gone, but that doesn't mean that the drinking and drug-free dancing on the sand can't continue.   It pays for parents to spend five minutes to talk with their teens to keep this spring break filled with good clean fun.