Growing up I always was made fun of because how supportive I was of SADD and MADD. In high school I was president of my SADD club for three years and a member for4 years. To this day I’m still very serious about drinking and driving.
Underage drinking has emerged as the number one youth drug problem. By being an informed, caring parent you can strongly impact your teens decisions regarding alcohol. In fact, 74% of kids will turn to their parents for guidance on drinking. And research shows that as moms we are the number one influencers in dealing with this issue. For teens, alcohol is an illegal drug—and a zero tolerance policy is the best policy to have as a parent.
here are seven tips for getting through to your teen:
- Communicate before a problem starts-Have important discussions now, before there is blame and anger, and punishments. Agree on a time to talk about the dangers of alcohol.
- Discuss rules and consequences-explain what you expect from them, and why you don’t want them to drink. Agree on consequences if rules are broken.
- Show you care-show your teen affection, and tell them you love them and want them to be healthy and safe, and thats why you want to talk to them about the dangers of underage drinking.
- Pay attention-Even when life gets hectic, take tie out and listen to your teen. Monitor where and what your teen is doing.
- Share family activities– Have dinner together at least 3 times a week.
- Give and get respect-When your teen talk to you listen and respond respectfully. Ask that your teen treat you with respect, too.
- Enforce consequences consistently-If your teen breaks the rules, stay calm and enforce the consequences.
Underage alcohol use kills more young people than all illegal drugs combined. High school students who use alcohol or other substances are more likely to drop out of high school.
If that doesn’t scare a parent I don’t know what would. I grew up around underage drinking. I even have members of my family with DUI’s. They are legal age, but from class=”hiddenSpellError” pre=”from “>personnal experience it’s not a good thing and very expensive. luckily there were never any accidents and no one was hurt.
74% of kids ages (8-17) said their parents are the leading influence on their decision about drinking.
If you want more information on MADD, here are some resources,
and visit their new website launching today The power of Parents.
“I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of MADD. A donation was made to MADD in my name to thank me for taking the time to participate.”