Grandparents increasingly important in preventing teen substance use, pediatrician says

Emily Tylik, substance use prevention coordinator for the Encompass Coalition, opened a webinar on grandparents’ roles in youth substance-use prevention by noting the group serves the Town of Northborough and Southborough and introducing the guest speaker. "We're here today to talk about the role that grandparents play and how increasingly important this role is in the care of adolescents and the role that they can have in substance use prevention," she said.

Dr. Safdar Medina, a pediatrician at Tri River Health Center in Uxbridge and assistant professor of pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School, told listeners that grandparents’ roles have shifted with family structure, life expectancy and economics. "Historically, grandparents often lived in the same household or lived very close by..." he said, adding that more grandparents are again taking on active caregiving or serving as trusted adults who can mentor teenagers.

Medina emphasized grandparents’ preventive value: "One of the big protective factors for teenagers is having a trusted adult other than their parents, and grandparents can certainly serve in that role as well." He said grandparents can model norms, share family stories about substance-related harms and provide nonjudgmental support that encourages teens to disclose concerns.

The webinar framed grandparents not primarily as disciplinarians but as supplementary, stabilizing adults who can reduce teens’ exposure to adversity and strengthen resilience. Organizers closed by directing participants to Encompass Coalition resources and national materials on talking with kids about substance use.