Midwest version - my family / my self

In this segment of The Choice Game™ we review many of the other segments and analyze the interactions with the young people and Mom/Dad, grandparents and single parents. There are 16 scenes and 23 backstories.

 

Personal belief systems start with the family.  Young people struggle to define themselves and their newly emerging values as they relate to their family.  In this generation as the nuclear family lessens, The Choice Game™ explores both the traditional and not so traditional meaning of family, including trusted adults and friends.

Opening Narrator #1 (Lauren)

Hi, My Name is Lauren Valenza.  I ‘ve been involved in producing The Choice Game™ and I was honored when I was asked to play the part of Sally in four of the segments. 

I have helped to write some of the scripts and my friends and family have played a number of the parts but, more importantly, The Choice Game™ has helped me develop my thinking when it comes to critical decision-making.

I’m now happy to narrate this segment of The Choice Game™ called My Family/Myself which shows highlights of many of the scenes in The Choice Game™ that involve family and self respect.

Not everyone lives with their biological parents.  Some teens live with their grandparents or foster parents.  Some teens may even be living with a trusted adult.  The word family means many things.  In The Choice Game™ we tend to show the traditional family but you still can learn a lot about how to communicate with most adults by watching how our Choice Game teens think and act.  

Now you have a choice to see how different kids relate to adults usually their parents on different topics.  They are:

         First:  Alcohol and Drugs

Second: Communications

  Third: Teen Pregnancy

Fourth:  The Family        

Fifth:  STDs              

Let’s begin and I hope you enjoy the choices you make.

Drugs & Alcohol: (From Influences MW segment)

Mrs. Golden:  Research shows teens consistently smoke the most heavily advertised brands. 

Mr. Fernandez:  Sally, what do you think of all this?

Sally:  Well, lots of kids think it’s cool to smoke.

Mr. Fernandez: Tell me more.

Sally: Kids who think they’re cool all smoke ‘nd so do their friends.

Mrs. Golden:  And if the oldest sibling smokes,  the younger brothers and sisters are more likely to smoke as well.

Mr. Fernandez: Ads filled with pretty, sexy, attractive young people sell any product.

Mrs. Golden:  Yes, “sex sells.”  Young people think smoking leads to success, popularity and… makes you look more attractive.

Mr. Fernandez: Sally, I’d like to ask you a question off the topic of tobacco, since I’ve know you and your mom for a long time.

Sally:  (looks at him strangely) Yah?

Mr. Fernandez: Well, (he sighs) my 15-year-old son might be using marijuana and my wife and I are concerned.  Do you have any ideas on what we could do?

Sally:  That’s hard. … From what I see kids go along with what their friends do.

Mr. Fernandez: My brother’s a neurologist and he says that one of the last regions in the brain to mature is the ability to plan and make complex judgments.  Actually, the brain doesn’t finish developing until you’re 20 years old.

Mrs. Golden:  I didn’t know that.

Mr. Fernandez: I’m afraid my son’s doing Marijuana and thinks it’s not harmful.

Sally:  A lot of kids think like that.

Mrs. Golden: Well, you could always take him for a drug test and you’d know for sure.

Mr. Fernandez:  Umm, I’d have to give that one some thought.

 

This segment explores the relationship of teens with their parents, grandparent, guardian or trusted adult and their siblings.  All of the scenes contained in this segment will be viewed in other segments of The Choice Game.

  Listen to "Introduction by Narrator" (Track 1) 

 

 

 

Adam can see early on that this is way beyond his control.  He can continue to party and try his best to clean up before is parents come home, or he can call a “trusted adult” his Uncle Pete to help him.

 

 

Listen to "Jared tries talking to his Mom & Dad" (Track 10) 

 

Listen to "Kim & Tommy talk about risky choices" (Track 17)