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Start Talking!
Know! To Stand
Firm Against Underage Drinking
4/6/2018
In the previous tip, Know! April is Alcohol Awareness Month, we
discussed the negative health and safety risks of adolescents consuming
alcohol. In this tip, we will talk about the prevalence of alcohol
among adolescents and the steps we can take to protect our children by
helping to prevent underage drinking and promote well-being.
Did you know? By the age of 15, about one in three teens will have had
at least one alcoholic drink. By 18, more than half of all teens will
have experimented with alcohol.
It’s a fact. Underage youth between 12 to 20-years-old are responsible
for drinking 11 percent of all the alcohol consumed in our country.
Though this age group drinks less often than adults overall, they tend
to drink in much higher quantities, known as binge drinking. In fact,
90 percent of their alcohol is consumed in this manner.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that alcohol
contributes to 4,358 deaths of young people each year and more than
189,000 emergency room visits. The time to act is now!
Preventing underage drinking is no easy task, as there are many factors
unique to everyone to consider, including genetics, personality, rate
of maturation and development, level of risk, and social and
environmental factors.
There are key pieces to overall prevention, which include:
Young people need to feel loved, valued and appreciated - through words
and actions – at home, at school, and within their community. At home,
it is our job to hug our kids (no matter how big they are), and tell
them we love them every day.
Communication is KEY. Open, honest communication. Children whose
parents talk with them early and often about the dangers of substance
use – including alcohol and underage drinking – are up to 50 percent
less likely to use in the first place. Talk about the big stuff, talk
about the small stuff – talk about the negative consequences of alcohol
(refer to the previous Know! Tip for info), and just talk about what is
happening in their everyday lives.
Expectations. Our children should know what is expected of them. We
must set clear boundaries when it comes to alcohol. Our children need
to hear us say that underage drinking is unacceptable. In surveys where
youth reported NOT drinking underage – they cited not wanting to
disappoint their parents. But they should know where we stand. And we
must stand against it, or they are much more likely to partake.
They should be able to trust us and know that no matter what’s
happening, we are there for them and will help them through whatever
situation they find themselves in. This can be tricky because if they
do find themselves in a sticky situation and they do come to us, we
must remain calm or that trust is broken, and they will not come to us
next time. Does it mean that there aren’t consequences? Of course not.
Trust also includes them knowing the consequences for breaking the
rules and trusting that we will follow through and hold them
accountable for the choices they have made.
Positive role models vital. Parents are a child’s first and most
important role model. Believe it or not, our teens pay close attention
to what we say and do and how we handle ourselves in different
situations. On the other hand, research shows that parents who binge
drink are much more likely to have children who binge drink. Be careful
of the example you’re setting for your child.
Friends We must know with whom our children are spending their time. We
must also get to know our children’s friends and their parents – which
becomes trickier the older they become.
Activity Connections. Be it a sport, band, theater, chess club,
whatever – we should be encouraging our kids to find their passion and
get connected. For the times when a simple “no,” doesn’t feel like
enough, their connections give them an ideal way to turn down a drink
when offered: “No thanks - coach would kill me,” or “No thanks – I’ve
got my play coming up and I can’t risk it.”
Alcohol remains our nation’s number one health problem, for youth and
adults. The time to take action to protect our children from underage
drinking and set them up to succeed in life is now. By following the
steps above, you’ll start to take action to improve outcomes for the
children in your life.
April is Alcohol Awareness Month. Click here for more information and
guidance on prevention.
Remember to follow Start Talking! on Twitter and Like us on Facebook.
Learn how to get the drug prevention conversation started at
StartTalking.Ohio.Gov.
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