Although he acknowledged the fact that he was preaching to the choir, Alan Wilmarth urged a group of parents to make sure they were actively involved in the lives of their children.
Wilmarth, director of addictions and outpatient mental health services for United Health Services, told a group of about 20 parents at a Chenango Valley High School forum on drug abuse that effective parenting was the number one way to keep kids from abusing drugs and alcohol.
"You need to be actively and aggressively involved," Wilmarth said.
"If you're asking enough questions to significantly annoy your adolescent, you're getting close to asking enough questions."
The forum was the first of the school's Community SAFE (Safe Advice For Everyone) Program forums. The forums are designed to give parents the information they need to make effective decisions, said health teacher Garry Scutt, who helped coordinate the forums.
The next forum will be on body piercing and tattoos, from 7 to 9 p.m. on March 7 in the CV High School auditorium.
The forums are free and open to the public.
Wilmarth, Binghamton police Capt. David Eggleston and two recovering drug addicts -- Buddy Richardson and Jonathan Maciak -- spoke to the group about the various aspects of drug abuse.
All of the speakers said the most important thing parents can do is stay involved with their children.
"There's no way that my kids are going to grow up without me all over them," said Richardson, a recovering alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in 11 years.
The forum's message rang especially true for Raymond Carley of Binghamton, father of a seventh-grader and himself a recovering drug addict.
Carley said he has already spoken to his daughter about drug abuse, but plans to keep talking.
"The dangers of being addicted are very real," Carley said.
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