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Blog > Blaise Brooks

Blaise Brooks

Mother of 8-year-old, cares for 18- and 22-year-old nephews
Accountant
Los Angeles, California

Because I have my nephews, I have my daughter I had never heard of it and I wanted to help help spread awareness in my community, at my church, at the different schools that my family went to, and it's worked out.  As moms, we've spread the word across America.

Well, I'm more of an educator; I'm a Sunday school teacher, I tell kids there, I go to libraries, I tell kids there. I tell other parents. I do things online on Facebook on Myspace. I get the word out.

 And plenty of people contact me when they think they're having trouble in their home, with their teen. So I think I've made a difference in just mentoring and helping to educate parents.

I would tell them to make they safeguard their medicine cabinets, continually. I want them to continue to talk to their children. I want their voice to be the voice in their child's head when they're out, when they're away from them. I just want them to talk. I want them to know that, you know, children are 50 percent less likely to use drugs if you talk about it in the home. So my main thing is just to focus on educating the parents to educate the children.

Moms are busy, they're working. They're not paying attention to some of the newer things that children are doing. So, it's good to tell them. It's good for educators to do it because they have their focus. They're the ones that they go to for help and information, so it's very important.

I grew up in a home surrounded by very strong women. Everyone took care of each other’s kids—it was always “call your aunt for help” or “call your grandmother.” So it seems only natural for me to be a part of this campaign full of strong women and mothers. We need to take care of each other and our kids. My aunt always told me, “Everything you do needs to be food for the soul.” That’s exactly what Five Moms is about for me.

I have an 8-year-old daughter, and my nephews, who are 18 and 22, also live with me in California. I am lucky enough to work for myself as an accountant, so I am able to make sure that my family always comes first.

Two teenage boys are a challenge, no matter the situation, and I need to know what is going on so I can monitor their actions. I know the boys are Internet junkies—they are always on the computer finding new things. So, it’s even more important for me to be in tune with what is going on out there. We’re all very close, but I’m straightforward with them and provide structure for our life as a family. They always know where I stand.

I’m also excited to be able to spread the word about cough medicine abuse with all the mothers out there. This is a serious issue. We must band together to take care of each other and our kids. It is up to us to learn what is out there and equip our kids and ourselves with the right information and help them do the right thing.