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One of the best features of my position at CCESC is the overall variety, and a particular project of interest is working collaboratively with our Schuyler County Coalition on Underage Drinking and Dugs. SCUUD have been involved since the inception, and continues to explore strategies to involve community members, families and young people in addressing the issue of underage drinking and drug use.
Over the last five years, there have been significant decreases in alcohol use among adolescents. Still, more adolescents begin drinking alcohol in June or July than any other time during the year, with an average of 11,000 adolescents ages 12 to 17 starting to drink each day. That statistic combined with survey data from local high school students indicating 80% of 12th grade students report consuming alcohol in comparison to 68% nationally, has (SCCUDD working to provide adults with knowledge, resources, and changes to our environment to reduce our local incidence of underage drinking. When young people drink, they often engage in binge drinking, and underage drinking can also be linked with other drug use. Binge drinking is the most common pattern of excessive alcohol use in the United States. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 percent or above. This typically happens when men consume 5 or more drinks, and when woman consume 4 or more drinks in 2 hours. More than half of the alcohol consumed by individuals in the United States is in the form of binge drinking and roughly 90% of the alcohol consumed by youth under the aged of 21 is in the form of binge drinks. The good news is that most young people who binge drink are not alcohol dependent. We can all strengthen substance abuse prevention efforts with these resources:
Talking To Kids about Alcohol
5 Conversation Goals
1. Show you disapprove of underage drinking.
More than 80% of young people ages 10-18 say their parents are the leading influence on their decision to drink or not drink. So they really are listening, and it’s important that you send a clear and strong message.
2. Show you care about your child’s happiness and well-being. Young people are more likely to listen when they know you’re on their side. Try to reinforce why you don’t want your child to drink—not just because you say so, but because you want your child to be happy and safe. The conversation will go a lot better if you’re working with, and not against, your child.
3. Show you’re a good source of information about alcohol. You want your child to be making informed decisions about drinking, with reliable information about its dangers. You don’t want your child to be learning about alcohol from friends, the internet, or the media—you want to establish yourself as a trustworthy source of information.
4. Show you’re paying attention and you’ll notice if your child drinks. You want to show you’re keeping an eye on your child, because young people are more likely to drink if they think no one will notice. There are many subtle ways to do this without prying.
5. Build your child’s skills and strategies for avoiding underage drinking. Even if your child doesn’t want to drink, peer pressure is a powerful thing. It could be tempting to drink just to avoid looking uncool. To prepare your child to resist peer pressure, you’ll need to build skills and practice them.
Youth and Family Development
Mel Schroeder, Youth and Family Development and PWT co-chair [email protected]
Youth Trend to Think About; Young People and the Higher
Use of Alcohol during Summer Months
Mel Schroeder, Youth and Family Development and PWT co-chair, Risk and Thriving in Adolescence, [email protected]