Prescription drugs are in nearly every home in the country and their accessibility is making it easier for teens to abuse them.

Nearly 100 parents and teens came together at Ivy Tech Community College Thursday night to learn how they can prevent their kids from falling into this growing epidemic.

Deller Laney brought her daughter to the seminar to learn about the warning signs and how she can protect her daughter.

"When I was a young girl her age, 15 years old, we really didn't have these problems. We really didn't hear about it and I just need to know, I need to be in the know, I need to be in her business and this is my way of knowing what's going on in her life," said Laney.

She and other parents are essential to keeping kids off drugs.

The presenters estimate teens are 50 percent less likely to do drugs when they talk about it with their parents.

"It's tough to be a parent and talk to a teenager anyway," acknowledged Indiana University, South Bend professor Jeremy Linton, and an expert in substance abuse prevention. "If a parent is taking a lot of prescription drugs for pain or whatever as prescribed by a doctor, it's hard for them to then say, it's wrong for you to be taking these."

Linton said there is a misconception among teens that prescription drugs are safe since they're prescribed by a doctor and are legal.

"They don't carry that stigma of say crack-cocaine, heroin, where everybody kind of knows those are bad for you," said Linton.

Deller said it's the misconception that makes her need to learn about the problem now. While she's not too worried about her own daughter going to seek medication, she is worried about the other children who may come in contact with her.

"You have to worry about your own, but you have to look at the next child because they're all going to be our future, so it's not just my own that I worry about, I worry about everyone else," said Deller.

Linton recommends parents keep any medication locked away. He also suggested keeping track of the remaining pills to see if any are missing.

For more advice, click the links below or on the Big Red Bar.