Sunday was “Take Five in Iowa” day — and in case you missed it — a spokesman from the Iowa Office of Drug Control policy says you can take part any time. Dale Woolery says the idea is to have parents take a least five minutes to talk with kids about staying away from drugs. He says taking a few minutes to talk with kids about drugs has the potential to reduce the possibility the kids will take drugs by about 50-percent.

Woolery says parents are a powerful force in the lives of their kids. Woolery says being and important person in the life of the child, a parent or any other key person is top in influencing children. He says even with all the different messages out there on T-V, on the internet and others, the research shows that kids listen to parents more than anything else.

Woolery says kids don’t want to let down their parents. He says a study by the Partnership for a Drug Free America shows two-thirds of teens between 13 and 17 says the possibility of jeopardizing their parent’s respect is a major reason they don’t use marijuana or other drugs.

Woolery says you don’t have to be a drug expert to make an impact. He says it’s important to let them know where you stand on drugs and risk taking in general. Woolery says you should keep tabs on what your kids are doing and be a good example and listen to them. Woolery says there is plenty of information available to help you talk with your kids about drugs.

He says you can get help by going to the Iowa Substance Abuse Information Center at: www.drugfreeinfo.org. Or you can call 1-866-242-4111. The Partnership for a Drug-Free Iowa and the Office of Drug Control Policy have provided electronic Take Five tip sheets to Iowa schools for distribution to the parents of students who may soon be forced to begin making decisions about drug use or other risky behavior.