How Parents Can Recognize When Their Children are Drinking

As much as parents may not like to think about it, the truth is that many kids and teens try alcohol during their high school and college years, long before it is legal for them to drink it.  Some research has shown that nearly 80% of high school kids have tried alcohol. 

Although experimentation with alcohol may be common among kids, it is not safe or legal.  To help prevent alcohol abuse in children, it is a good idea to begin discussing alcohol use and abuse with kids at an early age and to continue openly communicating about it as they grow up.

Risk Factors:

Times of transition such as puberty, changing schools, and parental divorce can lead children to try alcohol in an effort to escape from the intense feelings that they are having. 

It is the responsibility of the parents to teach their children that life does bring difficult times but using alcohol to deal with the challenges of life only makes things worse. 

Children with low self-esteem are more likely to try alcohol to deal with problems because they do not believe that they are capable of dealing with challenges in a successful manner.  Children who have a hard time believing in themselves need extra assurance and support from their parents. 

Children who do not have good relationships with their families and who feel disconnected in some way need to have support from some adults or they will be more likely to turn to alcohol.  Research has shown that the number one reason children give for not turning to alcohol is the desire not to ruin the relationships they have with the adults around them. 

Generally, there is a lot a parent can do to keep their children from using and abusing alcohol.  The first and possible most important is to be a good role model.  It does not matter what parents verbally teach their children because their actions will speak much louder than their words.  Children are much more likely to repeat their parents' actions than their verbal instructions. 

Secondly, parents need to educate themselves about alcohol and the current trends regarding children so they can better help their own children anticipate situations when alcohol will be tempting but is not feasible.  Thirdly, as mentioned before, it is extremely important for parents to do everything in their power to give their children a strong sense of self and a high self-esteem.  Lastly, parents need to teach their children how to handle stress. 

If children go into difficult situations with an understanding of the proper, ways to handle it they will be less likely to turn to something like alcohol to make the transition time smoother. 

Despite the parent's best efforts, there are times when children choose to try alcohol.  Some common warning signs are:

* The odor of alcohol
* Change in mood or attitude
* Change in school performance
* Loss of interest in activities the usually enjoy
* Secrecy and withdrawal from family and friends
* Association with a totally new group of friends

Childhood and adolescence is a time of great change and can be extremely confusing for many children.  It is important for parents not to jump to conclusions based on just one or two of the warning signs.  The warning signs will generally come in clusters when children are using alcohol. 

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Alcoholism in the News

11/18/2008
Indian youth grapples with modern life (Denver Post)
Modern American Indian life is rarely portrayed with any nuance in popular culture. Instead we tend to get historical glorification and mythmaking, like "Dances With Wolves," or documentaries about reservation alcoholism or gambling empires.

Indian youth grapples with modern life (Denver Post)

11/18/2008
Indian youth grapples with modern life (Denver Post)
Modern American Indian life is rarely portrayed with any nuance in popular culture. Instead we tend to get historical glorification and mythmaking, like "Dances With Wolves," or documentaries about reservation alcoholism or gambling empires.

Indian youth grapples with modern life (Denver Post)

11/19/2008
A Half-Century Later, Woodley House Still at the Cutting Edge (Washington Post)
You don't hear much about mentally ill people being locked in the attic by misguided relatives anymore. There are no "insane asylums" where patients go for counseling but end up getting a lobotomy instead. Words such as "warehouse," "snake pit" and "cuckoo's nest" are no longer used to describe most...

A Half-Century Later, Woodley House Still at the Cutting Edge (Washington Post)

11/18/2008
One man's 'story of recovery' (Grand Haven Tribune)
There were times that Nelson (who asked not to use his last name) didn't think he was going to make it. He had lost his job, home and most importantly, his daughter to his battle with alcoholism.

One man's 'story of recovery' (Grand Haven Tribune)

11/18/2008
Dad Drinks, and His Son Has Demons of His Own (New York Times)
With ?Dawn,? a tale of alcoholism and incest, Thomas Bradshaw is to some extent a victim of his own notoriety.

Dad Drinks, and His Son Has Demons of His Own (New York Times)

11/19/2008
NEWS: 'Men of Dartmouth' draws large crowd (The Dartmouth)
Seven undergraduate men discussed the evolution of their understanding of masculinity and what it means to be a man in front of a riveted audience in a packed Collis Common Ground on Tuesday night. The second annual "Men of Dartmouth" panel, which ended with a standing ovation, covered a range of topics including death, illness, war, alcoholism and self-discovery.

NEWS: 'Men of Dartmouth' draws large crowd (The Dartmouth)