Parents Empowered and the Heber Valley Railroad are kicking off a fun partnership to educate families on the harms of underage drinking.
Heber Valley Railroad has transformed their train to be a Mountain Safari where the train conductor and mascots - a moose, mountain lion and an eagle - will all help guide families along the safari.
Families will be given a safari booklet and they can look for clues in the train cars and along the ride and the landing depots. The clues will educate parents and kids about the harms of underage drinking.
On June 12, 2023, they will be hosting a local's day for those who live in Wasatch County. To reserve your 90-minute ride, you can call or stop by Heber Valley Railroad office.
Things will kick off at 6 p.m. and then there will be activities at The Depot before a 7 p.m. train ride.
For those who can't make local's day, the Mountain Safari Train will run all summer long so families can pick up their booklet at The Depot before boarding their train.
Research shows that alcohol affects a child's brain differently than adults. Alcohol can impair a child's brain development and harm the parts of the brain associated with decision-making, learning and impulse control.
There are three things parents can do to help prevent underage drinking: bonding, boundaries and monitoring.
Constant communication with your kids is key. Let your kids know you strongly disapprove of underage drinking and set clear rules against it.
Studies show that if your child thinks you would view their drinking alcohol underage as very wrong, there's a very small chance they will drink—only about 3 percent.
But if your child perceives you would only view it as wrong or a little wrong, the likelihood dramatically increases, with up to 37 percent of kids opting to drink.
That's why parents' clear rules against underage alcohol use are so powerful. (Utah Student Health and Risk Prevention Study, 2019)
To learn more about Parents Empowered and what you can do to help prevent your child from experimenting with alcohol visit parentsempowered.org.
