How to talk to teens about responsible drinking
As a parent, grandparent, teacher, or friend, you have a major impact on the choices that the children in your life make, especially during the preteen and early teen years. One study reported that adolescents from families with alcohol problems were less likely to use alcohol themselves if they felt a sense of control over their environments, had good coping skills, and had highly organized families. Other researchers have found that preserving family rituals, such as keeping established daily routines and celebrating holidays, also can make a difference in steering kids clear of alcohol abuse.
Talking to young people openly and honestly about drinking is also vitally important. Delaying the age at which young people take their first drink lowers their risk of becoming problem drinkers. That’s reason enough to talk to the teenagers in your life about alcohol, but it’s not the only one. These are some of the other important reasons:
Alcohol has harmful effects on developing brains and bodies.
For adolescents ages 15 to 20, alcohol is implicated in more than a third of driver fatalities resulting from automobile accidents and about two-fifths of drownings.
Drinking interferes with good judgment, leading young people into risky behavior and making them vulnerable to sexual coercion.
Teenagers who use alcohol and tobacco are at greater risk of using other drugs.
Teenagers who drink are more likely to develop behavioral problems, including stealing, fighting, and skipping school.
Underage drinking is illegal.