Should teens be allowed to drink alcohol under your "supervision"?
Underage Drinking
The New Year celebrations will begin soon. Will you allow your teen to drink alcohol during a party, under your "supervision"? Maybe you have already allowed this to happen, but there is clear and convincing evidence as to why you might want to reconsider this practice.
Drunk Driving is Not the Only Concern
I wrote a piece about underage drinking for momtourage.com, which is very timely for the holiday season. Sometimes parents think that because their teen is under their "supervision", and nobody will be driving, that it's okay to let the "under-agers" imbibe. There are plenty of reasons to just say "no" to the idea of letting them have "just a few", or partake of libations "just for the holidays", however. Drunk driving, though devastating, is only one part of the equation.
But, It's Legal in Some States!
In some states, under-age drinking is okay if a minor is accompanied by a parent. This is a frightening prospect, and it clearly points to the fact that some of the lawmakers in these states are behind the times when it comes to understanding the devastating impact that early drinking behaviors can have.
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For the complete article, go here.
What Do You Think? Weigh-in Below!
Comments
~Wendy
Thanks for stopping by!
~Wendy
It’s about realising that kids are watching you all the time whether you are aware of it, like it or even notice it.
So how you handle drinking, alcohol and booze is no exception.
My kids have grown up seeing us drink wine, drinking beer watching the football and have seen their Grandma enjoying her glass of red wine around the kitchen table. They’ve seen me at parties, had parties of their own and have grown up with me talking and teaching them about how to strike a balance.
They will make mistakes of course but I hope I have taught them how to learn from them while finding their way through the tricky teenage years. My kids were not allowed alcho pops at my BBQ’s even if their friends parents allowed them – I know the dangers of underage drinking and I’m here to be their parent – not their friend.
As you know my job is not to tell parents what you do – my job is to ask parents better questions to help them find their own answers.
So just for this week imagine you have a camcorder on your shoulder that is following you around and notice what it sees around drinking, alcohol and the message that you are sending to your kids.
The U.K. has been struggling with a rise in alcohol consumption that many people contend is fueling public disorder and violence and i was invited to the House of Commons recently to join a panel about what to do about that.
The biggest problem facing the UK today is alcohol abuse and drug taking.
Health experts say cheap supermarket alcohol, irresponsible bar-room promotions and longer pub opening hours have contributed to the problem. Binge-drinking became an issue during the election campaign here in the UK, with all the parties vowing to crack down.
The UK government this week said it would take a range of steps to curb alcohol abuse, including banning below-cost sales; giving police stronger powers to yank licenses from pubs that over-serve customers; and allowing local councils to permanently close any shop or bar “persistently selling alcohol to children.”
So parents need to step up and send out very clear messages to young underage kids that drinking is NOT OK !
Sue Atkins
Author of "Raising Happy Children for Dummies" and the Parenting Made Easy app
It’s not about beating yourself up if you don’t like what you discover – but about making a small change that will take you in a different direction if you don’t like what you find out.
~Wendy
So wendy no is my answer too!!!
~Wendy
Thanks for stopping by. There is no research that supports that one can teach a "teen to drink responsibly", in fact, the research shows that giving teens alcohol is contraindicated. Here's a report that just came out:
http://www.healthjockey.com/2012/01/20/teen-brain-more-prone-to-addiction/
Wendy =)