Pot times July 17, 2005

Board Game Forces Kids To Make Tough Decisions About

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1124/a13.html
Newshawk: Herb

Pubdate: Thu, 14 Jul 2005
Source: Nepean This Week (CN ON)
Copyright: 2005, Osprey Media Group Inc.
Contact: editorial@nepeanthisweek.com
Website: http://www.nepeanthisweek.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2614
Author: Christie Mailey
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth)

BOARD GAME FORCES KIDS TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS ABOUT DRUGS

Local News - A new game will be hitting schools all over the Ottawa Carleton District School Board next school year that will help children make the right decisions about drugs and alcohol.  Inventor Barry Keane hopes Denial will raise awareness about the pressures young people face.

The idea for the board game stemmed from a drug awareness poster contest through Keane's church group.  One of the entries showed a Monopoly-type board game and Keane thought it would be a great way to help parents talk to their kids about drugs and alcohol.

"The game is a bridge for parents and their children, or teachers and their students," said Keane.  "But the kids make their own decisions to moral questions in a game format."

Denial, which is geared toward eight to 13 year olds, is a mix between Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit and Snakes and Ladders.  It takes about 45 minutes to play and it forces children to make tough decisions when it comes to morals.  The Choices and Consequences cards, designed much like the Chance cards in Monopoly, cover topics including pregnancy, lying, peer pressure and substance abuse.

"The game is designed to push back their curiosity because the earlier they start experimenting the more likely they are to have problems later in life," said Keane.  "It's a major problem.  If it's not, then why are there 43 treatment centres in this city?"

Over 30 schools in the OCDSB have purchased the game and Keane has approached school boards in Kingston, Toronto, Peterborough and Belleville among others.

"I have delivered games to school boards that include over one third of a million elementary students," said Keane.  "If the message is repeated and repeated early on then hopefully they can retain the information in real life situations."

Keane has marketed the game beyond school boards and now has Denial at Zellers.  The game will be on the shelves until July 30.  Denial will be sold at Giant Tiger as well as other test stores in October.

"I have had 10 year olds say it's more fun than Monopoly and 12 year olds say it's very educational.  I am trying to convey the message that if we're on drugs we might do things we wouldn't normally do, like stealing, or things that will affect us later on, like not being able to travel to other countries.  I am seed planting and trying to dispel a bunch of myths," said Keane.  "It's saying go ahead kids, roll the dice, but know the consequences."