A new report chronicling the whereabouts of past high school dropouts shows that all dropouts, and particularly African-Americans, are far more likely to wind up incarcerated or unemployed than those with a high school diploma.

ONE - Talk to your kids: Parents talk to your children about drugs, but not gangs? Many parents believe that gangs are just an urban problem and that is not the case. Gangs have begun to migrate to all areas within the United States, to include the Greater Nashua area. Let your child know you disapprove of gangs and do not want to see them get hurt, arrested or even killed.
TWO - Tell your child not to: Associate with gang members. Hang out where gang members are located. Attend a party or social event sponsored by a gang. Use hand signs. Wear clothing associated with gang.

For those of us who grew up in Nashua, we note a major difference in the neighborhood; there are no children outside. We remember on a Saturday when we would get up, have breakfast, go outside and play, come in briefly for lunch, and then be outside again until dinner time. Now children are often in front of video games for many hours a day.

Parents in the Greater Nashua area have a variety of different views as to when, to what extent, and how much access their children should have to electronic communications, whether it be access to websites, e-mailing or texting friends, or establishing their own web page through Facebook, My Space, or other sites. Restricting and supervising access to the internet at home is an important start, but it is not enough.