Posts Tagged ‘Parental Guidance’

Underage Drinking – How Parents can help?

Posted on Feb 17, 2011

Parents are their children’s biggest role models and play an important role in their children’s drinking habits. According to recent reports, teens are more likely to consume alcohol if they see their parents using alcohol. Parents can help influence their kids drinking behavior in many ways. Usually parents who have responsible drinking habits are more likely to teach their children the same.

How Parents Can Help With Underage Drinking?

Parents should not drink alcohol beverages around their children.
Parents should not give alcohol beverages to their children at home or at parties.
Strict rules and punishment should be set regarding drinking alcohol.
Parental involvement can help reduce underage drinking
It is important for parents to know their children’s friends and their drinking habits.
Parents should communicate with their children often about the dangers of drinking alcohol and using drugs.
Parental involvement can positively influence their child’s behavior.

Age-Appropriate Parent Child Discussion

It is not an easy task to talk to kids about alcohol and drugs, but there are a variety of techniques that can initiate conversations about alcohol usage. Parents need to know what is appropriate to discuss and what strategies would work best on their child. Parents who provide a loving and supportive relationship with their children can significantly reduce the risk of underage drinking.

Reasons for Underage Drinking

Teenagers want to fit in with peers.
Lack of self esteem.
Young people with anxiety problems are at risk of consuming alcohol.
Teenagers that suffer from depression use alcohol to help them cope.
Children from single parent homes usually have alcohol-related problems.
Unsupervised teens will experiment with alcohol and drugs.
Children without a supportive and loving parent-child relationship are more likely to experiment with alcohol.
Peer pressure is a major reason that has also been found to lead to adolescent drinking and alcohol-related problems among teenagers and young adults.
Children from dysfunctional homes use alcohol to ease the pain.
Teens that have conduct problems are more likely to have problems with alcohol.
Alcoholism usually runs in the family, so children of alcoholics are more likely to start drinking at an early age.

Parents need to stay involved with their kids and take time to listen to what they have to say. Kids are more likely to talk to parents who listen to them. Children are less likely to experiment with alcohol when they have a close relationship with their parents.

Teenage Drunk Drivers, Underage Drinking1 Comment »Parental Guidance Teenage Drunk Driving Underage Drinking

Don’t let your kids drink & drive!

Posted on Dec 21, 2010

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs or both not only affects adults. Many juveniles who have not reached the legal age of 21 get behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. Don’t let your kids drink and drive. Drinking and driving is extremely dangerous and should be avoided at all cost.

Reasons Why Kids Drink Alcohol

Most kids are aware of the legal drinking age but studies show that over 75 percent still chooses to drink before the legal age and even drive while intoxicated. There are various reasons why kids choose to drink alcohol, and some of those reasons are:

To experiment
Peer pressure
Curiosity
To feel good
To fit in
To relax
To reduce stress
To feel mature

Alcohol Put Your Health and Life at Risk

From a very young age kids are used to seeing advertising messages and adults using alcohol as a way to socialize and enjoy life. So alcohol seems harmless to kids and as a natural part of life. However, kids who drink and drive put themselves and the innocent lives of others at risk. They are also more likely to take part in illegal activities and unprotected sexual acts. Kids who drink alcohol are also more likely to have problems with school and socializing, like:

Drinking can damage their ability to study well
Grades are affected
Student’s get into fights more often
They are more prone to depression
They tend to experiment with drugs

Underage Drinking Is Very Dangerous

Drivers under 21 years of age accounted for over 12 percent of drunk driving deaths in 2000. Most youths don’t fully understand the dangers of drinking and driving and the effects that blood alcohol content has on the brain and body and how drinking can severely affect their ability to properly handle a vehicle. Drinking and driving is a very serious game and must be stopped. So parents please don’t let your kids drink and drive. It could save their lives.

Drunk Driving, Teenage Drunk Drivers4 Comments »Parental Guidance Teenage Drunk Driving

Healthy Relationship with Parents Can Prevent Teen Drinking Problems

Posted on Aug 23, 2010

Alcohol abuse in young people is becoming a major problem to the point that the American Academy of Pediatrics are advising pediatricians to start screening teenagers and even sixth graders due to the health risks involved. But, how can parents get involved and prevent their teenagers from drinking at such a young age?

Listed below are 4 ways for parents to build a healthy relationship with their teens in the hopes of preventing drinking at an early age.

1. Good Parent-child Relationship

The circumstances in which a child drinks his first drink and how parents deal with it, is critical to building a healthy parent-child relationship. A recent study suggests that teens that have a strong relationship with their parents may start drinking at a later age. Parents’ involvement can also influence both a later drinking age and a high-quality relationship with their teens. The data also revealed that these teens who had a good parent-child relationship also had a lower risk of drinking problems compared with their peers.

Healthy Relationship with Parents Can Prevent Teen Drinking Problems

2. Trust and Privacy

Trust and privacy is a major issue among parents and teens. Parents need to learn to trust their teenagers and give them some privacy from time to time. If the child doesn’t feel that he or she can confide and trust his/her parents, then the child will shy away from talking to them about anything, including drinking. Also, when in the doctor’s office, teenagers should be given some privacy to communicate one-on-one with their doctor on a confidentially basis without parents’ presence.

3. Communication and Respect

Communication is the key in building a healthy relationship with teens. Talk with them about your family’s history of alcohol or drug use. There’s a genetic connection to alcoholism, and kids should know if they are at risk for alcoholism also. Teenagers should be able to feel that they can discuss their problems with their parents and that their parents respect their feelings.

4. Rules and Prevention

You are still the parents, so there should still be rules. Set some rules and abide by them. Have a no alcohol, drugs, or tobacco until age 21 policy in the household. Talk to them about alcohol and its’ dangers such as drunk driving, drinking laws etc… And keep a close eye on their behavior and the friends they hang out with. Let them know that this is about keeping them safe and not to control their lives.

Alcohol Abuse and its Effects on Teenagers

Research shows that during the teenage year, the brain is in an amazing developmental phase. It shows that the brain growth spurt gives teens remarkable cognitive powers, but also leaves their brains more vulnerable to the damaging effects of alcohol, drugs, tobacco and other harmful substances. Recent research has also shown that the sooner teenagers start drinking alcohol or using drugs; the more likely they are to have problems with academics, jobs, and relationships as adults.

Remember, as parents you play a very important role when it comes to your children’s risk of alcohol abuse. Building a strong and healthy relationship with your children can prevent them from early drinking problems. Your teenager may not show it, but they still view you as their biggest role models!

Alcohol Abuse4 Comments »Alcohol Abuse Parental Guidance