parents corner: underage drinking
Parent’ s Corner: Underage Drinking Parent’ s Corner: Underage Drinking
“ Mom, is this the underage drinking talk again?” and Lucinda rolled her eyes and exhaled dramatically to emphasize to her mother how stupid she thought all of this was.
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Despite how it may seem, children absolutely do listen to their parents when they talk about underage drinking. And not only do they listen, but teens actually identify you, their parents, as the number one influence on whether they drink alcohol or not.
Talk to them- it does make a difference. Start at an early age, and keep it up all the way through their teen years.
Key points to mention and cover in your discussions:
• Start the conversation at an early age and continue talking as they grow up.
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• Establish your values. Be clear and let them know that drinking under the age of 21 is illegal and you won’ t accept it.
• Make sure they understand the negative consequences of drinking underage, including the ways it affects their growing bodies.
• It can also lead to:
• Killing or injuring themselves
• Killing or injuring someone else
• Crashing a car
• Riding with someone who has been drinking
• Having unintentional sex
• Getting arrested
• Having an unplanned pregnancy
• Getting lower grades in school
• Getting in trouble at home
• Getting in a fight
• Help them to come up with ways to tell their peers“ NO.” The more you help them, the more confident they’ ll be.
• They know it’ s important to live a healthy lifestyle. Explain to them that underage drinking is not part of that lifestyle.
• Teach your daughters about the ways that alcohol affects girls differently
What Youth Say About Alcohol
Why Youth Say They Drink:
When asked why today’ s youth drink alcohol, 51 % report neither they nor their friends drink. Among reasons cited by youth for why teens drink, 41 % say to have a good time followed by celebrate( 30 %). Nearly three in ten teens( 28 %) say they drink to get drunk, and two in ten teens say to feel good( 24 %) or de-stress / relax( 21 %).
Where Youth Drink Alcohol
A lack of parental supervision appears to be the key ingredient in where today’ s youth drink alcohol. When asked where underage drinking takes place, seven in ten teens cited parties with no parents home, followed by 61 % of teens saying drinking occurs at their friends homes when the parents are not home. Other locations include parties in remote locations( 48 %), parties when parents are home( 43 %), and at events( 34 %).
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health reports a majority of current underage drinkers ages 12 to 20 who consumed alcohol in the past month said the last time they drank alcohol it was either in someone’ s else house( 55 %) or their own home( 23 %). Additionally, 82 % of these underage drinkers said they were with two or more people the last time they drank.
20 | Illinois Spring / Summer 2013 | abusemagazine. org Source: The Century Council / Distillers Fighting Drunk Driving & Underage Drinking