Natchez &8212; The community&8217;s problem can only be solved one family at a time.

Typical community responders &8212; law enforcement, schools and the courts &8212; spend their time reacting to teenage drinking and drug use. Prevention has to start elsewhere, those authorities said.

&8220;The answer has to be parents taking accountability in hand and running with the ball,&8221; Youth Court Judge John Hudson said.

Taking accountability means setting a good example, father Doug Wimberly said.

&8220;We don&8217;t typically keep alcohol around,&8221; he said. &8220;We don&8217;t make it appear that you have to have alcohol to have a good time.&8221;

And he uses real-life situations to teach his 14-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter right from wrong.

&8220;We&8217;ve been in situations where they&8217;ve seen teenagers drinking,&8221; he said. &8220;And we talk about (it) &8212; you saw whoever they are, and they were drinking, and you also saw x, y and z and they weren&8217;t. And everyone was having the same amount of fun. And we talk about the consequences.&8221;

Family communication like Wimberlys&8217; isn&8217;t around enough anymore, Metro Narcotics Cmdr. Cliff Cox said.

&8220;It&8217;s the breakdown of the traditional family values,&8221; he said. &8220;There&8217;s less time in the house, everyone&8217;s mobile now. They aren&8217;t discussing problems at the supper table but over the cell phone instead.&8221;

But Wimberly attributes the problem to more than just the loss of family time.

&8220;I think it goes back to our culture here locally,&8221; he said. &8220;Natchez just has the lackadaisical attitude toward (drinking). If you are sitting down and having dinner with your kids every night, then you all go out to a Mardi Gras ball and drink together, then nothing&8217;s happened.&8221;

When the children are on their own in situations full of peer pressure, the line between right and wrong has already been blurred, he said.

But when parents start teaching values in children at a young age, they&8217;ve laid a good foundation for smart decisions, said Sammy Porter, father of two teens.

&8220;The main thing is to instill in your children what is right and wrong,&8221; he said. &8220;When they get away from you they are going to try to do whatever they can, but you can only hope you&8217;ve taught them to do the right thing when it comes up.&8221;

And don&8217;t ever stop communicating, Robert Lewis Middle School Principal Bettye Bell said. The 12- and 13-year-olds in her school have already been exposed to drugs, she said, and they need to be hearing mom and dad&8217;s opinion on them.

&8220;Talk to them about real issues,&8221; she said. &8220;Don&8217;t be afraid to talk to them about drugs and sex. They are going to hear it from somebody, and they need to hear it from a positive somebody.&8221;

She said trouble often starts at the middle school age because parents start loosening the reins to allow the pre-teens their freedom.

&8220;Middle school kids are not big enough to turn loose. Love them to death and try to spend as much time as you possibly can with them. The more time you spend with children the less likely they are to get into trouble.&8221;

Parents need to acknowledge right from wrong, too, Vidalia High School Guidance Counselor Cynthia Smith said.

&8220;The worst thing for our teenagers is parents who shut a blind eye and don&8217;t address it,&8221; she said. &8220;The attitude of considering drinking as a rite of passage, well, it&8217;s not. We as adults just say they are being teenagers.&8221;

Cathedral Principal Pat Sanguinetti said the only solution he sees is to keep educating, keep warning and keep talking.

&8220;Unfortunately, it always takes a death to open up eyes.&8221;