Refusal Skills help youth avoid drugs, alcohol and other trouble.
The easy to use S.T.O.P. model helps youth keep themselves and their friends safe and make positive choices without shutting out their friends.
Follow the S.T.O.P. steps to stay out of trouble
Say No - “No thanks”
Tell them why - “That’s not healthy”, or “My family rule is I don’t do that” or “That’s illegal, we could get in big trouble”
0ffer an alternative - “How about we play soccer at the park instead”
Politely leave - “I’m going to the park, you can join me if you want”
Practice Makes Perfect!
Use these “what if?” scenarios to practice refusal skills.
Parents ask your kids some of these questions at least once a month to practice the S.T.O.P. steps. You can do it in 5 minutes while driving, waiting for an appointment or at the dinner table.
- What if some friends at school offer you to try some weed/marijuana what would you do?
- What if you are at a party and people start serving alcohol and offer you a drink?
- What if you see a gun laying on the ground at the park, a friend wants to pick it up?
- What if you are hanging out with some friends who have been smoking weed and drinking alcohol they ask you
to come with them as they drive to McDonald’s to get some food.
- What if you are at a friend’s house and they have a hookah pipe they ask if you want to smoke some hookah?
- What if you are at a party and someone offers you a brownie or gummy candy that is not in a wrapper?
- What if you are at school during lunch and a friend offers you to try their e-cigarette/vape, they say it is only fruit
flavor and won’t hurt you.
Lesson Plan for Educators and Youth Workers (Coming Soon)
Use our free lesson plan and refusal skills videos to teach youth refusal skills.
Start teaching refusal skills as early as 3rd grade.
Workshops for youth
Are you in Southeast Seattle?
We provide refusal skills workshops for schools and youth groups. Contact Us
Looking for our original Refusal Skills Video from 2020 featuring Michael Passian from Walk Away City Collaborative and Daunte "Lavell" Walton from D4NT?
Here It Is! Feel free to use this version as well: