Changes To Notice In Children

• Money missing from home and/or child has unexplainable amounts of money
• Having new clothes that you don't know how they got
• Mood change to a negative, uncooperative, and defiant attitude
• Hanging out with a new group of friends and staying out later than acceptable
• A drastic drop in grades and a new dislike for school
• Skipping school all day
• Glassy eyes with slurred speech
• Quitting participation in favorite activities
• Isolating self from family and familiar social groups
• Secret friends and lack of talk about whereabouts
• A major change in the type of clothes "dressing down" in gang attire
• Draws (doodles) gang sign or unfamiliar looking signs or insignia
• Change in amount of computer communication (chat rooms)
• Change in television show viewing

What Parents Can Do

• Be involved with your children and supportive of them and the positive activities they enjoy
• Know your children's friends
• Talk with your children and listen to them
• Don't be overly judgmental all the time, pick battles wisely
• Know who is influencing your children
• Know what your children are doing and where they are
• Keep them busy
• Establish and enforce week night and week end curfews
• Do not allow gang dress
• Know what your children bring into the house and how much money they should have
• Be aware and suspicious of written graffiti, (gang) tattoos, etc
• Have an anti-gang attitude at home
• Learn all you can about gangs and drugs
• Participate in your child's education
• make unannounced visits to your child's school
• Get involved in community/neighborhood activities
• Get to know your neighbors and, if possible, ask them to help keep an eye on your children
• Visit back and forth with your neighbors so your children will see you have trust in them
• Model the behavior you expect "If you want your children to follow your footsteps, be careful where you place your feet"