Published on: 1 March 2018



Renowned guest speaker Paul Dillon made a return to Christ Church this week, speaking to over 190 school community members on the topic of Teenagers, alcohol and other drugs. How much influence do parents really have?

The talk, hosted by the School’s Parents’ Association, explored how parents can best support their son/s in making smart choices and how accessibility to high quality and accurate alcohol and drug information is essential for parents if a community-based approach to drug education is to be adopted.

“Paul’s parent information sessions cover a range of issues including resilience and the importance of connectedness. They accentuate positive norms and aim to empower students, parents and staff in this controversial yet incredibly important health area,” says Liam Casson, Director of The Wynne Centre for Boys’ Health and Wellbeing.

During his visit, Paul also spoke to boys from Years 8 to 10 as part of our Personal and Spiritual Development (PSD) program, complementing what is currently being taught in Harm Minimisation and Alcohol (Year 8), Issues in Society and Values (Year 9) and Advanced Drug Education, Smart Choices and Risk Taking (Year 10).

Paul has been working in the area of drug education for the past 25 years and continues to work with many school communities across the country to ensure that they have access to good quality information and best practice drug education.

Anyone wishing to read more on these topics is encouraged to view our recent article Dealing with risk taking and the consequences for boys featured on our Building Good Men blog. Additional resources can also be accessed through the Drug and Alcohol Research and Training Australia website.