When we were in fifth or sixth grade, many of us probably had only a vague idea of the dangers of alcohol. As today’s society confronts children with alcohol at an earlier age, many of today’s youth unfortunately are not afforded the same luxury of innocence we enjoyed only a few years ago.

Illinois Secretary of State Jim Edgar recently introduced a statewide effort to educate elementary students about resisting peer pressure to drink alcohol. The PEERS program (Promoting Effective Education in Resistance Skills) involves high school students who talk to groups of fifth and sixth graders about how to handle different forms of peer pressure.

This program can have a direct and positive effect on the most important part of our country’s future—our youth.

The high school students involved know from experience the dangers of encountering alcohol at an early age. One 18-year-old participant said he was able to purchase liquor in grammar school. “We’re trying to teach that if they do start at an early age, (alcohol) can ruin their lives at an earlier age,” the student said.

This program gives elementary school students the opportunity to encounter positive role models who are only four or five years older than they are—people they already admire. These high school students will help make it easier for the younger children to really believe there is nothing wrong with saying “no.”