What Parents Should Look Out For As Summer Vacation Begins

 

With summer vacation upon us, kids have more opportunities to enjoy free time. Although there are some risks associated with that freedom, we are encouraged by the good news that the majority of today's youth are  choosing not to use substances. 

National data from the 2025 Monitoring the Future Survey showed that reported use of most drugs remained relatively low among U.S. teens, with many students reporting no recent use of marijuana, alcohol, or nicotine. Still, prevention matters because the products, risks, and ways that youth are exposed continue to change - meanwhile drug potency is on the rise.

With this in mind, our prevention partners at Informed Families - The Florida Family Partnership - have kindly shared an informative article outlining what today's youth are seeing, hearing, and potentially being offered when it comes to alcohol, vaping, THC products, and other substances. In this week's blog, we will highlight a few of these - beginning today with an update on Vaping.

Vaping Is Still a Major Youth Prevention Concern - vaping remains one of the most important substance use prevention topics for parents, schools, and communities. According to the FDA and CDC, e-cigarettes were still the most commonly used tobacco product among U.S. youth in 2024, with 1.63 million middle and high school students reporting current e-cigarette use.

Parents should know that many of today's vape products are easy to hide, flavored to appeal to youth, and often disposable. More than 8-in-10 current youth e-cigarette users reported using flavored e-cigarettes, and disposables were the most commonly used device type among current youth users.

This is an important health issue. Teen vaping can affect attention, learning, mood, and impulse control. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive and can harm the developing adolescent brain. Parents should continue monitoring their children's activities and keep the lines of conversation open. 

InnerAct Alliance can help! Our agency provides prevention education presentations at schools, summer camps, youth programs, and community events to help youth learn about the risks of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances. Working together, we can help our children feel informed, supported, and prepared to make healthy decisions. Programs are provided free of charge - call us today at 802-0777 for more information.

https://www.informedfamilies.org

40 Years-40 Stories of InnerAct Alliance | Story #36: Celebrating UthMpact Class XV Graduates – Nicholas Roll & Hellen Sierra

 

40 Years-40 Stories | Story #36: Celebrating UthMpact Class XV Graduates - Nicholas Roll and Hellen Sierra

As we continue celebrating our 2025-2026 UthMpact Class XV graduates, we're honored to highlight two more exceptional young leaders who completed the program on April 1, 2026!

Today, we celebrate UthMpact Graduates:

🎓 Nicholas Roll
University of Alabama
Majoring in Architecture

🎓 Hellen Sierra
Polk State College
Majoring in Graphic Design

The UthMpact Experience! - These graduates traveled throughout Polk County on monthly Leadership Days to meet with community leaders and experience the inner workings of local volunteerism, business, government, healthcare, education, and law enforcement. They learned crucial leadership skills while educating their peers about substance abuse prevention through projects like Project Prom, Project HOCO, and the UthMpact Facts social norms campaigns. 

Congratulations, Nicholas and Hellen! Your dedication to leadership and prevention has made a lasting impact on our community. We can't wait to see all you'll accomplish!

*UthMpact: https://www.facebook.com/UthMpactPolk

*Contact: Samantha Barwig @ (863) 802-0777

*Support Prevention: https://www.inneractalliance.org/donations.html

*Text IAA to 26989

#40Years40Stories #InnerActAlliance #UthMpact #ClassOf2026 #GraduatingSeniors #FutureLeaders #ProudMoment #PolkCounty #YouthLeadership

Healthy Risk-Taking Supports & Builds Resilient Kids

 

Healthy risk taking can be beneficial, as it encourages kids to try new things, accept challenges, and venture into the unknown. By guiding children toward healthy challenges, parents can help kids satisfy their natural desire for risk taking, avoid negative outcomes, and bolster confidence and leadership skills - all in an effort to help youth become better equipped to manage risk as they grow into the teen years and into adulthood.

5 Top Tips for Families to Participate in Healthy Risk Taking

*Get out into nature together, such as in parks or on bush walks, as natural settings proving many amazing risk play opportunities.

*Provide experiences with real tools together, such as cooking, gardening, or "fix-it" jobs around the house.

*Give your child space where appropriate, supervising out of the child's direct view so they can gain confidence in mastering their skills 'on their own'.

*Identify the risks or hazards. If there is a hazard, step in and help.

*Try to avoid saying 'no' or 'be careful' in risky play situations. Rather, encourage your child to identify the risks and discuss ways of managing them together. Set boundaries to help guide them through a progression of experiences and levels of risk according to their abilities and experience.

When it comes to teens, it can be a bit more challenging for them to find ways to express themselves in a safe way. Our prevention partners at the Partnership to End Addiction remind us that taking risks is a natural part of teens' identity and development. It provides opportunities to learn new things and explore boundaries. Key is for risks to be healthy ones that will help kids gain confidence and practice problem-solving, decision-making, and resilience - important skills they'll need to succeed in life.

Encourage new learning experiences, such as Summer Camps, that offer a perfect opportunity for kids to give new activities a try. Our friends at Lakeland Mom have compiled the ultimate list of camp options in Lakeland, Bartow, Winter Haven, and across Polk County in their Summer Camp Guide for Lakeland + Polk County at: https://lakelandmom.com/summer-camp-directory/

Reassure your kids that there's everything to gain and nothing to lose - either way, it can be a valuable learning experience. There are always other activities to explore if the first one doesn't work out. 

Talk about your healthy risk-taking and share the rewards and failures so kids will know that trial and error is a normal part of finding what works best for us all!

Read more about Healthy Risk Taking

https://drugfree.org/article/healthy-risk-taking/

IAA Joins Heartland for Children at the Annual Child Welfare Provider Fair Today!

 

Looking for something fun to do now that school is out? Grab your hat and saddle up at Heartland for Children's 2026 Child Welfare Provider Fair today, Friday, May 29, from 10am to 2pm, at the Bartow Civic Center. 👪

This FREE event features community resources, health screenings, snacks, games, raffles, and fun. Participants will have an opportunity to connect with child welfare providers, explore local services, and discover new support opportunities for children and families in our community!

While you're there, be sure to stop by the InnerAct Alliance table to say "howdy" to IAA's own Angie Ellison and Tammy Coker! 🤠  

40 Years-40 Stories of InnerAct Alliance | Story #35: Celebrating UthMpact Class XV Graduates – Kadence Lesnett & Audrey Norman

 

40 Years-40 Stories | Story #35: Celebrating UthMpact Class XV Graduates - Kadence Lesnett & Audrey Norman

As we continue celebrating our 2025-2026 UthMpact Leadership Class XV graduates, we're honored to highlight two exceptional young leaders who completed the program on April 1, 2026!

Today, we celebrate UthMpact Graduates:

🎓 Kadence Lesnett
Entering the workforce

🎓 Audrey Norman

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Pre-Dental

The UthMpact Experience - through monthly Leadership Days, these graduates traveled throughout Polk County to meet with community leaders and experience the inner workings of local volunteerism, business, government, healthcare, education, and law enforcement. They learned crucial leadership skills while educating their peers about substance abuse prevention through projects like Project Prom, Project HOCO, and the UthMpact Facts social norms campaign.

Congratulations Kadence and Audrey! Your dedication to leadership and prevention has made a lasting impact on our community. Whether entering the workforce or pursuing higher education, we can't wait to see all you'll accomplish!

* Follow UthMpact: https://www.facebook.com/UthMpactPolk?

* More info: Contact Samantha Barwig (863) 802-0777

* Support Our Programs: www.inneractalliance.org

* Text IAA to 26989

#40Years40Stories #InnerActAlliance #UthMpact #ClassOf2026 #GraduatingSeniors #FutureLeaders #ProudMoment #PolkCounty #YouthLeadership

Teens, Social Media, and Mental Health

 

As the internet's role in the lives of young people continues to expand, so do fears of children becoming addicted. It's sad to realize that kids today will never know a world without social media - to the point that some parents admit that they're trying to keep their kids disconnected for as long as possible.👪

Teachers and those who work with young children have already noticed a marked decrease in attention span. Spending too much time on social media platforms already gives kids unrealistic expectations and creates low tolerance for boredom. AI has created new issues of concern that as kids get older, many tend to replace real interactions with inauthentic interactions, which is confusing to kids overall.

In 2025, experts from Pew Research Center found that about half (48%) of teens surveyed admit that social media has a "mostly negative effect" on people their age and 45% of teens admit to spending too much time on it.📱

Teens and parents may not realize that the goal of these companies is to always keep teens spending time on that platform. Whether or not the content makes the teens feel good or bad is immaterial to how the algorithms are programmed. 

Parents are advised to keep a watchful eye on their teens, monitor the social media platforms they use, and talk to them about balancing screen time as well as real time.

Read more about the use of social media and its impact on the wellbeing of today's youth, please visit: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2025/04/22/teens-social-media-and-mental-health/

40 Years-40 Stories of InnerAct Alliance | Story #34: Celebrating UthMpact Class XV Graduates – Hope Hallock and Angelly Hernandez

 

40 Years - 40 Stories | Story #34: Celebrating UthMpact Class XV Graduates - Hope Hallock and Angelly Hernandez

As we continue celebrating our 2025-2026 UthMpact Leadership Class XV graduates, we're honored to highlight two exceptional young leaders who completed the program on April 1, 2026!

Today, we celebrate UthMpact Graduates:

🎓 Hope Hallock
University of Florida
Majoring in Mathematics

🎓 Angelly Hernandez
Ridge Technical College

The UthMpact Experience - through monthly Leadership Days, these graduates traveled throughout Polk County to meet with community leaders and experience the inner workings of local volunteerism, business, government, healthcare, education, and law enforcement. They learned crucial leadership skills while educating their peers about substance abuse prevention through projects like Project Prom, Project HOCO, and UthMpact Facts social norms campaigns.

Congratulations Hope and Angelly! Your dedication to leadership and prevention have made a lasting impression on our community and we can't wait to see all you'll accomplish!

*Follow UthMpact: https://www.facebook.com/UthMpactPolk?

*More info: Contact Samantha Barwig at (863) 802-0777

*Support Our Programs: www.inneractalliance.org

*Text IAA to 26989

#40Years40Stores #InnerActAlliance #UthMpact
#ClassOf2026 #GraduatingSeniors #FutureLeaders
#ProudMoment #PolkCounty #YouthLeadership