Oneida County Health Department educators to meet with parents Aug. 22

Star Journal report
Parents of teenagers know their bedrooms can be a scary place. But along with clothes littering the floor and empty pizza boxes under the bed, what else is in there that parents might be missing? Oneida County Health Department health educators want to help moms and dads see what they may be missing.

Megan Otto and Maria Otterholt are hosting parents Aug. 22, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. at the Rhinelander High School library where a mock teen bedroom will be featured among other things.

“From flasks camouflaged as soda containers to drug-concealing containers and discrete pipes and stickers signifying marijuana use, many teens are hiding their drug and alcohol use in plain sight,” Otto stated.

The idea behind the mock bedroom is to teach parents the skills they need to determine whether their child may be experimenting with or using drugs or alcohol. Otto and Otterholt will also discuss how Rhinelander High School will be addressing these same concerns.

A new program, called Street Smarts, will become part of the Rhinelander High School freshman health class beginning this fall. In addition to touring the mock bedroom, parents and community members will have the opportunity to ask the health educators questions about the program.

“Street Smarts is a program designed to help youth practice safer sex, understand the side effects of drugs and alcohol, get in touch with their feelings, get rid of thoughts that are self defeating, feel confident in their ability to act safe and know where to go when they are in trouble,” Otterholt explained.

For more information, contact the Oneida County Health Department at 715-369-6111.