RAPID CITY - Teens with good family lives are less likely to smoke, drink alcohol and use drugs than teens with "hands-off" parents, Nikkole Abbas, Black Hills Area Meth Prevention Coordinator said.

That is based on a study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.

The study says simple, daily family interaction is one of the best tools for preventing teens from using meth and engaging in other dangerous behavior.

Ken Rostad, clinical supervisor at Lifeways of Rapid City, said spending family time together does not have to be difficult and it has a lasting effect on children through their teenage years.

"Five minutes a day," Rostad said. "If families would do that simple thing, just five minutes, it would really help."

Rostad said that means five minutes of eye-contact and conversation around the kitchen table without the television on or other outside distractions.

He said most of the time it does not matter what the topic of conversation is, the important thing is interaction.

"And for families who don't do it already, remember, it's not too late to start," Rostad said.

Some of that interaction can include parents eating dinner with their children several nights a week, assigning a few regular chores, knowing where the teen is after school and on weekends, being aware of how the teen is doing academically and making it clear they would be extremely upset if the teen used alcohol, cigarettes or drugs.

"The more we're paying attention and being involved in the lives of our youth, the less likely they are to use," Paula Wilkinson Smith, Lifeways executive director, said.

She said although parents have the ultimate responsibility, other people in the community play a role in helping teens make good choices.

"All it takes is one positive adult influence in a young person's life to make a difference," she said.

She said parents and other adults should let teens know they have control over their own decisions.

"If you can empower them with their choices, they do well," Wilkinson Smith said, adding that it is important to remember that anyone in the community can provide encouragement to teens simply by setting a good example and listening.

"It's not like you have to have a counseling degree to help a kid," she said.

Contact Katie Brown at 394-8318 or katie.brown@rapidcityjournal.com