Dnt do drgs, plz

    Turns out that teens are more willing to engage in serious conversations with their parents about drugs and alcohol in a way they feel most comfortable -- texting, e-mail and cell phones.

    New research from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and MetLife Foundation shows that while most teens would rather have a face-to-face conversation with the parents on these delicate subjects, nearly 1 in 4 teens say they would prefer to use e-mail or a cell phone. But only 3 percent of parents would opt to communicate this way.

    "Parents who are waiting for the 'right time' to talk with their kids about drugs and alcohol may be missing everyday opportunities to connect on this important issue," Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership, said in a statement.

     The survey underscores that "Generation Text" has arrived. Teens are far more likely to rely on texting (63 percent) than sites like Facebook (38 percent). And most teens -- 67 percent -- are open to receiving texts from their parents after school. Research shows that for many parents texting may be an additional tool for monitoring and staying in touch with their teens.

    In other findings, the survey showed an ongoing disconnect about the discussions that are taking place between parents and teens about drugs and alcohol abuse.  Parents said they had addressed these topics at length with their teens, but alcohol is the only topic that 60 percent of teens reported their parents had covered in depth. And just 26 percent of teens said the parents had talked to them about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs to get high. That's a troubling finding, Partnership officials said, because 1 in 5 teens has reported engaging in this dangerous behavior.

     For parents who don't know how to text (gasp!) the Partnership has created a downloadable guide called "Time to Text." You can find this at TimeToTalk.org.