As a parent or someone in a parenting role, you are the biggest influence and the strongest intervention against your child/teen engaging in substance use at an early age. Your relationship with them guards against risk factors that your child/teen will encounter as they develop. It is through conversations with you that your child/teen will develop beliefs and understand your expectations about drugs and alcohol that will buffer them against information they receive in the media, from peers, and from other social interactions. It is important to talk with your child/teen early and often. How these conversations sound will change as your child matures.