Welcome to the Natural High Essentials
Natural High is all about giving parents and educators the best content and tools to
engage kids so they can lead healthy and thriving lives.
The 10 Core Essentials
These core concepts are what you need to feel prepared to have ongoing conversations about substance use with kids.
1. Peter Benson and Spark Theory
Kids that find their spark — another word for their Natural High — are far more likely to lead happy, successful lives.
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2. Dr. Harvey Milkman and The Iceland Study
A proven way to reduce the number of teenagers engaging in risky, dangerous, and life-altering behaviors with substance use.
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3. Aspirational Lifestyle Case Study: South Africa
When you create an aspirational movement driven by influencers and storytellers — young people jump on board.
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4. Making Healthy Choices Cool – The Social Norms Theory
Studies have shown that when teens realize that not as many of their peers engage in substance use as they thought, then they’re less likely to use them, too.
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5. Understanding Teenage Peer Pressure
The real danger of peer pressure in teenagers is that it happens internally. It’s teens’ desire for acceptance that drives them and can lead to unhealthy choices.
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6. Delayed First-Time Use
The single most important preventive measure: delay a kid’s first drink.
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7. 4 Personality Type Risk Factor Series
These personality factors can be highly predictive of who develops problems with alcohol and substance misuse.
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8. The Science Behind The Power of Storytelling
The power of storytelling and how it affects the brain.
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9. Why Positive Peer Influence Is So Crucial For Kids
3 ways to help steer kids to positive Influences.
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10. How to Help Kids Find Their Natural High
Our guide combines Natural High’s Core Essential principles in a free and simple downloadable PDF.
10 of 10Through our weekly email series, The Natural High Essentials, we share articles with the most relevant research on drug and alcohol prevention, and we provide effective strategies to engage kids. If you want to get on our mailing list, subscribe here.
All of our past Natural High Essentials articles can be found below, and we add new content weekly.