PARENTS OF TEENS:
Frequently Asked Questions
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Traci L. Toomey, Ph.D., a researcher at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health replies to some common questions.
Are efforts by parents enough to stop underage drinking?
Parents do an important job of educating children, monitoring their behavior, and enforcing consequences,13 but they can’t solve the underage drinking problem alone.2 To make a sustained change in young people’s drinking behavior, we need to create an environment that makes underage drinking unappealing and more difficult to do. 2,13
Can’t we just take away kids’ car keys?
Unfortunately, that’s not enough. A drunk teen can still find other keys, get in a car with others who have been drinking and harm themselves and others.
Underage drinking—with or without driving—is dangerous and illegal. The earlier that kids start drinking, the more harm they are likely to face. Risks include falling from a balcony or window, being sexually assaulted, drowning, experiencing alcohol poisoning, becoming alcoholic, and much more. 4‐9, 11,12,15
If we simply focus on drinking and driving, many young people will suffer other serious alcohol-related consequences.
My civic group is considering offering alcohol-free activities for young people. Is that a good idea?
In some communities there’s very little for young people to do. But when adults plan activities for kids, especially for older teens, those activities are not always successful. If you do want to plan alternative activities, it’s important to involve young people in the planning. We find that the teens who actually do the planning are the ones who benefit the most. 10
Offering alcohol-free activities alone isn’t enough, however; the community also needs to reduce teens’ access to alcohol.
How beneficial is it to offer alcohol-free activities for graduation night and prom night?
On nights like high school graduation and prom, it’s great to have fun events for teens that keep them off the road and away from alcohol. However many young people are being harmed or killed throughout the entire year due to underage drinking.3 We need to put energies and resources into laws and systemic, long-term changes in the community that will reduce underage access to alcohol on all nights of the year. 13
How much difference can we really make?
States and communities are slowly adopting more laws and policies designed to reduce underage drinking.1,13 We need parents’ passion and concern about keeping kids safe to make wider changes on a community and state level. I do believe that we can make a difference.
Learn about:
- Alcohol policies in your area
- Recommended Laws to prevent underage drinking
- What colleges can do to help stop the problem
CLICK HERE FOR REFERENCES
1. Alcohol Policy Information System. Read more
2. Bonnie, Richard J. and O'Connell, Mary Ellen (Editors) Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility, Committee on Developing a Strategy to Reduce and Prevent Underage Drinking, Board on Children, Youth, and Families, National Research Council (2004) Read more
3. Fatality Analysis Reporting System. Read more
4. Hingson, Ralph W. and Wenxing Zha. “Age of Drinking Onset, Alcohol Use Disorders, Frequent Heavy Drinking, and Unintentionally Injuring Oneself and Others After Drinking” Pediatrics Vol. 123 No. 6 June 2009, pp. 1477-1484 (Published online May 26, 2009) Read more
5. Hingson, Ralph W. et al. “Age of Alcohol-Dependence Onset: Associations With Severity of Dependence and Seeking Treatment.” Pediatrics 2006; 118;e755-e763.
6. Hingson R, Heeren T, Levenson S, Jamanka A, Voas R. Age of drinking onset, driving after drinking, and involvement in alcohol related motorvehicle crashes. Accident Analysis & Prevention 2002 Jan;34(1):85-92.
7. Hingson R, Heeren T, Zakocs R. Age of drinking onset and involvement in physical fights after drinking. Pediatrics 2001 Oct;108(4):872-7.
8. Hingson RW, Heeren T, Winter MR. Age at drinking onset and alcohol dependence - Age at onset, duration, and severity. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 2006 Jul;160(7):739-46.
9. Hingson RW, Heeren T, Jamanka A, Howland J. Age of drinking onset and unintentional injury involvement after drinking. JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association 2000 Sep;284(12):1527-33.
10. Komro KA, Perry CL, Murray DM, Veblenmortenson S, Williams CL, Anstine PS. Peer-Planned Social Activities for Preventing Alcohol Use Among Young Adolescents. J Sch Health 1996 Nov;66(9):328-34.
11. Miller JW, Naimi TS, Brewer RD, Jones SE. Binge Drinking and Associated Health Risk Behaviors Among High School Students. Pediatrics 2007 Jan;119(1):76-85. Read more
12. Miller TR, Levy DT, Spicer RS, Taylor DM. Societal costs of underage drinking. J Stud Alcohol 2006 Jul;67(4):519-28.
13. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking 2007. Read more
14. Zailckas, Koren. Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood. Penguin, New York (2006).
15. Zeigler DW, Wang CC, Yoast RA, Dickinson BD, Mccaffree MA, Robinowitz CB, et al. The Neurocognitive Effects of Alcohol on Adolescents and College Students. Prev Med 2005 Jan;40(1):23-32.
