Substance Use/AbuseWellbeing/Mental HealthRelationships/Communication

Jessica Lahey

Engaged, Competent and Sober: Raising Addiction-Resistant Kids in a Culture of Dependence

Noon CST 7pm CST

12:00 pm CST 7:00 pm CST

When

Thu, Sep 25, 2025 @ Noon and 7pm CST

Where

Virtual Event

Program Takeaways:

Risk = genetics (about half) + epigenetics + environment: ACEs, sleep loss, learning differences, social ostracism, transitions (e.g., middle→high school), and identity-based stress can all raise risk.

Start early & keep talking: developmentally appropriate, SEL-based prevention begins in pre-K and continues through college; teach refusal scripts and safe-use rules (lock meds/alcohol).

Delay first use: every year a teen delays lowers lifetime risk; peers and “being watched” amplify risk-taking.

Authoritative parenting helps: warm connection + clear limits (“No, not until your brain is done developing/legal”) is protective; permissive “sips/social hosting” backfires (and is illegal).

Build mastery, sleep, and self-efficacy: let kids struggle and succeed (healthy dopamine/motivation), prioritize sleep, and partner with schools and other parents.

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Lahey, bestselling author, journalist, educator and substance use prevention expert, will offer an evidence-based, jargon-free exploration of substance use prevention for parents, mentors, educators and everyone else who spends time with kids.

Lahey will break down the current research on substance use prevention as it relates to genetics, adverse childhood experiences, anxiety, academic performance, neurodiversity, competence, and motivation. She will help parents identify risk factors for substance use disorder and detail what adults can do to overcome a child’s risk factors. Lahey will explain why delaying substance use protects the developing adolescent brain and reduces the lifelong statistical risk for developing substance use disorder. Most importantly however, Lahey will offer concrete, practical takeaways adults can use right away to begin parenting for prevention. Participants will leave this event feeling informed, challenged, entertained, and empowered.

Lahey is the author of the New York Times bestselling books, “The Gift of Failure” and “The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence” which won the Media Award from the Research Society on Alcohol for outstanding journalistic efforts of writers who cover empirical research on alcohol. She has written about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Washington Post and The Atlantic.

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