Simulation gives parents a peek at what may be hiding in a teen’s room

Parents attending the Hampton-Dumont-CAL basketball game Friday learned that there’s more than meets the eye.

H-D-CAL and Prairie Ridge Integrated Behavioral Healthcare on Friday, during the basketball games, hosted “Hidden in Plain Sight.” The program was a simulated teenage bedroom complete with items that resemble one thing, but may have uses harmful or illegal towards children.

Permitted for parental viewing only, the simulation was meant to show parents to look closer at some of the items in their children’s room, as illicit items are not always immediately visible.

“There are things that come out on the market with vaping devices, items that have hidden compartments and things that appear to be typical teen items in their room that are not always what they appear to be,” said Joel Heuer, school liaison.

Examples Heuer gave are soda cans with false bottoms that open to hidden storage compartments, hats with secret zippers and vaping devices designed to look like flash drives.

“They’re just things you don’t normally associate with any illegal activity, but there’s something hidden there,” he said. “There are different things that have a meaning that, as adults, we don’t always see, so this helps show them what to look for.”

Amee Miller, Prevention Specialist with Prairie Ridge, said the organization offers the simulation to schools, as well as to many community events. She said the goal is simply to inform anyone who supervises children about potentially harmful items that could affect their child.

“We want to draw awareness to anybody that could be a parent, grandparent, guardian or any adult concerned about current drug trends,” she said.

Heuer said the school has done the activity in the past and typically schedules it for basketball games or events with a high amount of traffic. He said the more parents that can be reached with the information the better.

As parents viewed the room, Heuer said the main reaction was shock.

“I think it’s just the surprise and the shock that there are items out there kids can purchase online that aren’t what they appear to be,” he said. “People can be so unaware and if you’re not around it, you can be shocked they’re out there and marketed at kids to hide that behavior.”

He added that while the school has hosted the simulation before, it’s important to conduct it regularly, as new items are created every year.

“It’s a cat and mouse game,” he said. “There is always somebody out there figuring out ways to create products, to make another device, to create something else that’s intended for negative behavior.”

Although the items seen can be shocking, Heuer said it’s a valuable tool and an eye opener to parents. By participating in the simulation, Heuer said parents can be better prepared to deal with a situation should one arise.

“It’s easy to get and I think that’s the thing. That’s why parents need to have a little more supervision and ask questions,” he said, “and it boils down to being a parent rather than being a friend.”