How does this topic relate to homework? As a former high school teacher and a parent of two children who have navigated the teen years, I’m pretty confident that substance abuse negatively impacts student’s success in school and hinders the completion of homework.
I’ve always believed that as a parent it was my job to monitor my children’s media exposure. My belief is reinforced once again with the following research:
Children whose parents allow them to watch R-rated movies are more likely to drink alcohol than their peers, exclusive of any other parenting decisions, according to researchers at Dartmouth Medical School.
Researchers found that 24.4 percent of middle-school students allowed to watch R-rated movies all the time had used alcohol, compared to 18.8 percent among those who were allowed to watch R movies sometimes, 12.5 percent among those allowed to watch R-rated films occasionally, and 2.9 percent among youths who parents never permitted them to watch such movies.
The study controlled for other parenting decisions and permissiveness levels.
The findings were published in the May 2010 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs at: http://www.jsad.com/jsad/article/Parental_RRated_Movie_Restriction_and_EarlyOnset_Alcohol_Use/4460.html
for further information visit: http://www.jointogether.org/news/research/summaries/2010/study-says-kids-who-watch.html
SOURCE: Join Together Direct, Daily Edition, 4/29/10