Adolescents Overlook Risks of Inhalants
Adolescents often overlook the risks of inhalants. Although they can be injured, suffer serious medical effects, or die any time they use inhalants, five in eight 8th-graders do not see great risk in trying them.
Source - family.samhsa.gov

This is the worst and most dangerous thing for kids to do... it almost always causes brain damage and stunts brain growth!

Wow, 5 out of 8 is a big number too... especially for 8th graders!

So how old is a kid in the 8th grade, 13, 14?? That's young.

Look at this fact...
Among 12 year olds, 1 in 16 reports using alcohol in the past year.
Among 14 year olds, the rate jumps to more than 1 in 4.

Source: family.samhsa.gov/set/ October 2004

I think an 8th grader is usually 12-13 years old... When I was that old I had no interest (I still don't) in these kinds of things!

Some parents are so worried about not having their kids notice all of the crap they do secretly, that they don't notice the kids are doing the same or worse. It's like a liar that never knows when someone is lying to them because they're more concerned about making sure they keep their own lies straight.

I would say you were pessimistic if I didn't know how right you were. I worked for the police department very briefly and saw so many neglected kids, who probably don't even get a chance at a normal life because of the "role models" they grew up around. That is why I think teachers are so under appreciated and underpaid. Teachers are probably the only exposure some kids have to authority and positive behavior. I think if you can't reach the kid before 2nd or 3rd grade it is probably too late!

I think there should be some license you should have to get before you can have a kid... I just don't know if it should be run by the government... after all there are such great role models in politics.

Yeah! Maybe like a driver's license type thing for having children!

Yeah but who's to say the government knows any better... I think it should come from an outside agency... I don't think our politicians have the best moral fiber!

I agree with that. It's very important to instill "the valuable morals and standards of life" in kids very early in their life. With the peer pressure that's going to hit them in junior high... or is it 4th, 5th, and 6th grade these days ?? ... they need all the early teaching they can get to prepare them for that, so they can have the confidence to say "NO" when trouble is staring them in the face. And even then, they can fall victim, because peer pressure is so powerful. But teaching them right from wrong, teaching them to be confident, strong, and to believe in themselves can really help.

I don't know about a license to have kids. Look at how many people lie. They could pass the test with flying colors and be the worse parents ever. Look at how many people "barely" pass their drivers license test, and they are sharing the road with you!! ha

It is a big responsibility to have children. Trying to raise them up in today's world is a big challenge. Look at all the stuff out there a parent has to compete with. Wow... it's frightening.

We do have good parents out there though, and good kids. These parents take the time required to raise up their children to follow the right road to good behavior and good decision making, instead of turning down the destructive road to nowhere.

I don't have any ideas about what to do with the current teachers, but I think America would be a better place if you had to be a certain age in order to become a school teacher, like 50. You have to be 35 in order to be President.

Older people are patient, which is extremely important when trying to teach. Older people are generally stable, unlike some teachers who slack off on teaching because they're preoccupied with trying to figure out how not to lose their house, or worrying about a new baby on the way, or something along those lines.

When I was a kid I had an old man named Bill Bell who lived two doors down from me. He was retired and most of the time he was out in his workshop carving, filling shotgun shells, replacing worn out rivets in his bass boat, or just making something out of something.

I used to stand around for hours a day for weeks and probably months at a time watching him carve the most realistic looking birds out of wood. He would use a combination of knives and dremel tools to work with the wood, he would weld and solder feet out of brass. He would spend what seemed like ages painting them until the only way you could tell the difference between them and a real bird was the real bird would move.

But on to the point, he was the only neighbor I had who was patient with me and let me watch and learn. In turn, he was the only neighbor I didn't terrorize. Actually, there was one more retired guy who lived in the house between me and Bill named Ralph who was pretty much the same way, but Ralph died when I was really young and I don't remember too much about him.

All I know is that I am not patient enough to teach. I am thankful for those people who are patient enough and do a good job at teaching.