How to Talk to a Teen About Underage Drinking

Underage drinking has serious consequences, including injuries, diminished reasoning skills and even death. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that alcohol contributes to teen deaths in vehicle crashes and factors into many teenage homicides and suicides. The NIAA reports other serious consequences, including drowning, sexual attacks and participation in high-risk sex. Teens also experience injuries from burns and falls while under the influence of alcohol. Talking to your teen about drinking helps diffuse potential problems before she needs to handle situations that involve alcohol on her own.

Things You'll Need

  • News articles about teen accidents that involve drinking

Instructions

    • 1

      Talk about alcohol use with your teen in general concepts. Ask your child to share experiences about kids at school and friends who drink and places where your teen has come into contact with alcohol. Rather than lecturing your teen to avoid alcohol, develop the discussion so he explores the possible risks or concerns about the use. Mothers Against Drunk Driving reminds parents that teens, like all people, want to develop personal opinions, rather than following rules without understanding the reasons for the regulations. Allowing your teen to use factual information to explore ideas gives him the individuality and power to develop personal opinions.

    • 2

      Explore the influence of peer pressure with your teen by reading news articles about underage drinking and how alcohol alters behavior. Articles help direct your discussions to specific topics.

    • 3

      Discuss scientific research about alcohol and the influence of the drug on the teenage brain. Medical research gives your teen factual information to help formulate opinions about the negative impact of alcohol use on brain development. Studies on animals reported by the NIAA show damage from alcohol use to the frontal region of the outer layer of the brain that handles memory, spatial learning, planning, decision-making and impulse control -- all important functions for developing teenagers.

    • 4

      Talk about alcohol misconceptions and the terms "buzzed" and "binge" drinking with your teenager. Teens sometimes fail to equate buzzed drinking with impaired behavior and have false information about reducing the effects of alcohol by drinking coffee or physical exercise, according to DoSomething.org, a website focused on discouraging teen drug abuse.

    2. Previous:No

    Next:

    • Parents, Teens, and Alcohol: A Dangerous Mix
      Parents, Teens, and Alcohol: A Dangerous MixParents Playing It CoolMike and Molly throw the best keg parties in town. The beer flows freely as burly varsity-football players collect car keys at the door. Teens mill around, shouting over the pounding
    • Penalties for Underage Drinking
      Underage drinking is a problem among teens, children and adults all over the country. It is not only a problem for minors but also a problem for adults old enough to buy alcohol and have it available for minors. The federal government is cracking dow
    • How to Talk to a Teen About Underage Drinking
      Underage drinking has serious consequences, including injuries, diminished reasoning skills and even death. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that alcohol contributes to teen deaths in vehicle crashes and factors into man