Here are ways parents can help their children resist alcohol use.
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Boost confidence and self-worth by praising your child often for what she does well. Avoid constant criticism.
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Listen to what your child says. Pay attention and really listen. Be helpful during periods of loneliness or doubt.
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Know the facts and correct any wrong beliefs your child may have, such as “everybody drinks.”
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Know who your child’s friends are, and set clear limits. Do not support friendships with others whose parents do not set similar limits. Real friends do not urge their friends to break the rules, such as drinking alcohol, or reject them if they don’t. Insist that a parent be at any party your child attends. Don’t let your teen go to parties where alcohol is served.
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Make promises. Have your child promise never to get in a car when the driver has been drinking. You must promise your child that you will always be willing to pick him up, no questions asked, when a safe ride home is needed. Promise each other you will talk about it the next day.
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Help your child deal with emotions. Let her know that strong emotions are normal. She can express strong emotions in healthy ways. Talk about concerns and problems. Assure your child that everything has an upside, and things do not stay “bad” forever. Be a good role model in the ways you express, control, or relieve stress, pain, or tension.
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Talk about things that are temptations and those that are important to your child. Talk about school and your child’s need for peer-group acceptance. Discuss life goals and desires. Talk about the risk of using alcohol and drugs and how that might prevent reaching those goals. Teach children exactly how you expect them to respond if someone offers them alcohol.
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Encourage healthy ways to have fun. Family activities, sports and physical activities, interests in the arts, and hobbies can all be good uses of leisure time.
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Use teachable moments. Discuss tragedies resulting from alcohol use that are reported in the news. Ask your child what he thinks happened in the story and how tragedy could have been prevented.
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Join your child in learning all you can about preventing alcohol abuse. Programs offered in schools, churches, and youth groups can help you both learn more about alcohol abuse.
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Your child’s doctor understands that good communication between parents and children is one of the best ways to prevent alcohol use. If talking with your child about alcohol is difficult, your child’s doctor may be able to help open the lines of communication. If you suspect your child is using alcohol or any other drug, ask your child’s doctor for advice and help.
Alcohol and the media
No matter how often they hear how dangerous it is to drink alcohol, many young people today still think it’s cool. A big reason for this is the media. Alcohol companies spend billions of dollars every year promoting their products on TV, in movies and magazines, on billboards, and at sporting events. In fact, alcohol products are among the most advertised products in the nation.
Alcohol ads never mention the dangers, such as alcoholism and drinking and driving, or how it affects an unborn infant (fetal alcohol syndrome). Most ads show drinkers as healthy, energetic, sexy, and successful. Ads are trying to boost sales of a product, so this product—alcohol—is made to look as appealing as possible!
Here are tips on how parents can address issues related to alcohol and the media.
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Talk about ads with your children. Help them understand the sales pitch—the real messages in these ads.
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Teach your children to be wary consumers and not to believe everything they see and hear on TV.
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Make sure the TV shows and movies your children watch do not show drinking alcohol as cool or glamorous.
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Don’t let your children wear T-shirts, jackets, or hats that promote alcohol products.
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Talk with your children’s school about starting a media education program.
Parents who drink alcohol
Parents who drink should be careful how alcohol is used at home. Having a drink should never be shown as a way to cope with problems. Don’t drink in unsafe conditions—before or while driving a car, mowing the lawn, boating, etc. Don’t encourage your child to drink or join you in having a drink. Parents who are problem drinkers or who use alcohol often and in large amounts place their children at increased risk of alcohol dependence. Studies show that alcoholism runs in the family, so children of alcoholic parents are more likely to become alcoholics.
About teen confidentiality
All teens should be screened for alcohol and other drug use as part of routine medical care. Your child’s doctor will want to ask questions about alcohol in private to get honest answers. If your child reports alcohol use, the doctor will determine whether your child needs very brief advice, a return visit, or a referral to a specialist. Every doctor will have his or her own policy about what information must be shared with a parent and what will stay confidential (between the patient and the doctor), but most doctors will protect a teen’s confidentiality if they believe the teen’s drug use is not an immediate safety risk to the child or others. It is important for you to respect the doctor’s decisions about confidentiality to encourage your child to have an open and honest discussion with the doctor.