During the festive season, when young people are at greater risk of being tempted by drugs, parents might do well to heed the advice of a former TV actress turned parenting expert.
Barbara Chan Man-yee, better known as Money Chan, says the eldest of her two teen sons was once tempted to try drugs but refused - a decision she attributes to fostering a loving environment at home.
'He assessed the effects [drug use] would have on us as parents and decided against it,' she said. 'Our relationship and love protected him.'
Chan brought this philosophy to Parenting Forum, an organisation she founded with her actor husband, Liu Kai-chi, three years ago.
The group aims to address problems like drug abuse among youths by helping parents build confidence and strengthen their relationships through courses and seminars.
It also launched a two-year drug prevention programme last year, funded by the Security Bureau's narcotics division, which helped more than 8,000 parents in its first year.
'Children use drugs because they're unhappy and we need to find a way out of this,' she said. 'Parents have the biggest influence on their children. We would like to invite each one of them to be their children's guardian angel.'