Butler County drug and alcohol prevention specialist Lisa Gill is sharing with parents information about underage drinking and the need to talk with their children about the dangers. She was at a Power of Parents seminar Tuesday, April 25, at Knoch High School. William Pitts/Butler Eagle

JEFFERSON TWP — Butler County drug and alcohol prevention specialist Lisa Gill dropped by Knoch High School on Tuesday, April 25, to share her expertise with parents and urge them to start a conversation with their children.

At the Power of Parents seminar, a program of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Gill stressed the dangers of underage drinking and the importance of sharing that information with their children.

“You don’t have to do it all in one sit-down conversation,” said Gill. “It can be several short conversations.”

A key point of the presentation centered on the fact that the human brain is not fully developed until the mid-20s, meaning that prolonged alcohol consumption before then could greatly impair that development. That is assuming that alcohol consumption doesn’t lead to other, more immediate consequences first, Gill said.