The negative impacts of substance use in children and the resulting adverse effects are indisputable. Research suggests when parents or those in a parenting role play an active part in their child’s life, children are less likely to experience problems managing stress or misusing substances later in life. This podcast provides information about child development at specific ages and offers parents and those in a parenting role guidance and tips about what they can do at every age to prevent substance use.

A parent’s role in shaping your child’s development evolves as your child matures. The ways you support an infant are different than the ways you support a teen. Adjusting your responses to meet your child’s needs at each stage of development is important. As your child ages, it is not just their physical needs that change, but their cognitive, social, and emotional needs develop and change as well. This means that as a parent or one in a parenting role, you are continually adapting your skills to meet the changing needs of your child.

ParentingMontana.org, the website from Montana Department of Health and Human Services and the Center for Health and Safety Culture at Montana State University, has tools and resources to help parents meet the evolving needs of their children. This podcast is a tool that walks parents through some of the different things they can do as their child develops to guard against risk  factors like substance use.