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Alcohol and Our Kids
By Nancy Taylor
Drug abuse among 12 to 17 year-olds is on the decline. This is
encouraging news for parents and schools. Drug prevention programs
can boast their success and continue to hope for a continued
decline. But what about alcohol abuse? Is there a continued decline
in 12 to 17 year-old kids who abuse alcohol?
Unfortunately, no. The prevalence of abuse among pre-teens and teens
is as high as ever, and may even be on the rise. The evidence that
an enormous amount of damage is done to adolescents who use alcohol,
especially teens who are very young when they begin to drink, is
overwhelming. 40% of children who abuse alcohol before the age of 13
are likely to develop some sort of alcohol dependence in their
lifetimes. The 9 to 15 year-old age group is considered “the
overlooked group of drinkers.’ We seldom consider that children at
such a young age feel pressure to drink, but they do. Statistically,
this age group is the most likely to have a lifetime of problems
because of it. Consider the following statistics:
• Kids are under a great deal of pressure from their peers to drink.
In one survey of fourth to sixth graders, 30% said they got “a lot”
of pressure to drink.
• Kids are experimenting. 52% of 8th graders, 72% of 10th graders,
and 82% of 12th graders have tried alcohol.
• Kids are drinking regularly. Most teens have tried alcohol at
least once, and many kids drink just to get drunk. Binge drinking
(consuming five or more drinks in a row) is on the rise, and the
number of teens who drink regularly has increased steadily.
• Alcohol is the number one killer of our nation’s youth. Half of
all car crashes, suicides, traumas and other causes of death among
America’s adolescents can be attributed to the use of alcohol.
• Parents are sometimes part of the problem rather than the
solution. Most homes contain alcohol. While this is not necessarily
a problem, it does provide acceptance of alcohol use and
accessibility to alcoholic beverages. Parents who host parties
because the feel that “teens are going to drink anyway, and I feel
better knowing where they are while they are drinking” contribute to
the problem.
In order to combat the use of alcohol by adolescents, parents,
school and communities need to work together to put programs in
place. The best way to tackle the problem is to try and stop it
before it starts.
The Parent’s Role
Parents who are involved in their children’s lives have children who
are less likely to abuse alcohol. Talking to kids, attending their
after school and extra-curricular activities and maintaining an
active role in their lives may be the single most important way to
deter them from the use of alcohol. Established early, an open line
of communication between parents and teens will give parents the
upper hand when the time comes to talk to their children about the
dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. In spite of the influence of
peers, teenagers do listen to their parents.
The following are some of the practical steps that can be taken to
diminish the use of alcohol in teens.
• Prevent Availability. Minors should not have access to alcohol
while they are in your home. Ever. Parents should pledge to provide
safe places for their teens and friends to congregate without the
dangers of alcohol. Parents should be home at all times when their
kids are entertaining friends.
• Regulate Home Delivery. More than half the states in the United
States allow home delivery of alcohol. However, communities can
choose to ban the home delivery of alcohol. Even if home delivery is
not restricted by communities, a policy where the purchaser’s ID is
checked and recorded can be implemented.
• Break up Parties. Large gatherings of teens drinking pose a big
problem for communities. Police need to break up these gatherings,
but they know that teens under the influence will often flee the
scene, and serious accidents can result from kids driving under the
influence. Parents need to make sure parties in their homes end
safely. Car keys should be confiscated and parents of kids who are
unable to drive should be notified.
The Role of the School.
Often kids are under the impression that more of their peers use
alcohol than actually do. Research has shown that children under
this impression are more likely to abuse alcohol than kids who learn
their peers do not approve of drinking. Schools where programs
teaching kids to resist alcohol and talk to their parents about
alcohol have been able to reduce the incidence of drinking among
young teens.
School Alcohol policies should clearly state that underage drinking
will not be tolerated and consequences for violation of alcohol
policy should be very clear. In addition, kids who develop a problem
with alcohol abuse should be given the opportunity to seek help.
Schools should have policies in place that are oriented away from
suspension and expulsion, since minors who are unsupervised tend to
spend more time drinking.
The Role of the Community
The tendency for society to inadvertently support the abuse alcohol
by minors is a problem that must be corrected. Young, glamorous
models advertise alcohol products. Alcohol companies frequently
sponsor community and sporting events. And there is a tendency for
communities to ignore underage alcohol use, or even accept it as an
inevitability. Businesses that cater to teens and give them a place
where they can “hang out” in the evening hours are very helpful.
Teens who are bored and unsupervised are the most likely to get into
trouble, and communities where businesses take an active role in the
prevention of alcohol abuse are far and away more likely to have
fewer problems with it. In addition, strict enforcement of laws
prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors is imperative. Law
enforcement cannot turn a blind eye to the sale of alcohol to anyone
who is not likely to use it responsibly.
Parents, schools and communities must band together when addressing
the problem of alcohol abuse in teens. Without a clear plan of
action it is very easy to lose the battle of underage alcohol abuse.
The following resources are helpful for parents who wish to
implement alcohol prevention policies in their communities:
Prevention Decision Support System (PDSS)
www.preventiondss.org
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)
www.madd.org/chapters
Join Together Online
www.jointogether.org/sa/files/pdf/underagedrinking.pdf
Communtiy Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)
www.cadca.org
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, DHHS
www.niaaa.nih.gov
Office of Juvinile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, OJP, DOJ
www.udetc.org
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