December 1st is World AIDS Day, and every year in the first week of December at Primary School Savremena we organise activities for 7th and 8th graders dedicated to the prevention of abuse of psychoactive substances and the preservation of reproductive health.

Many parents nowadays are often afraid of dangers present everywhere in our surroundings that they cannot control. At Savremena, we believe that there are no taboo topics when it comes to the health and well-being of our children, and that’s why we take care to have a conversation from time to time about all the important topics that accompany growing up in the modern age, regardless of them being pleasant or unpleasant.

One such topic is the abuse of psychoactive substances and incurable infectious diseases that can be transmitted in this way. In order to deal with this topic adequately and in a way that children can understand, remember and adopt, we hosted Igor Pantić, psychiatrist and professor at the Faculty of Medicine in Belgrade, who gave a meaningful and illustrative lecture to our students of classes VIII-1 and VIII-2 on the topic of abuse of psychoactive substances and other forms of addiction.

The students had the opportunity to learn, in a very vivid way and through examples, how addiction is developed and maintained. Professor Dr Pantić drew students’ attention to typical myths about addiction, such as the following: You should try everything in life; If something is meant to happen, it will happen; Strong people can resist addiction by force of will; Small amounts of alcohol are good for health.

The students followed the lecture with great interest and had many questions for our guest, and in the final part of the lecture, they discussed healthy lifestyles and their role in preserving the mental health of young people.

Knowledge is power and often the best protection against many dangers. That’s why at Savremena we always encourage students to contact us without hesitation regarding all topics that are important during their growing up and maturing.