Taking the time to come up with prepped answers and activities will make it easier for your child or teen to say to no to drinking when faced with a peer-pressure situation. Here are some common reasons kids consider drinking and alternative activities and strategies you can suggest.
Alternative Activities and Strategies
TO CELEBRATE -Drinking looks like a grown up way to celebrate a special occasion, but there are many ways to make a milestone memorable without drinking:
- Go shopping for something special, like clothes, music, sporting goods.
- Host an outing, such as dinner with a few friends.
- Offer to have friends over for a supervised party.
TO LOWER STRESS - Kids may have the mistaken assumption that alcohol helps reduce worries.
- Remind your child that alcohol doesn’t make the problem go away.
- Offer productive solutions to deal with the stress long term.
- Suggest stress-reducing activities, like yoga, meditation, journaling, and exercise
TO EXPRESS FEELINGS AND REDUCE INHIBITIONS - Social situations can be stressful for everyone, especially for teens just learning how to navigate new emotional territory.
- Acknowledge the inherent difficulty of some social situations.
- Remind your child or teen that drinking clouds your judgement.
- Alcohol makes it difficult to communicate and can lead to disagreements, fights, and unwanted sexual advances.
TO GO ALONG WITH FRIENDS - This type of pressure can be direct, such as a person handing your child a beer, or indirect, such as your teen joining a group known for risky decisions.
- Help your child or teen understand the dynamics of peer pressure.
- Make a plan for how you child wants to react to such situations.
- If possible, limit contact with friends who pressure your child to drink.
TO LIFT THEIR MOOD - Many kids believe alcohol will help them achieve a better mood.
- Reassure your child or teen that it is normal to feel sad and stressed sometimes.
- Suggest they exercise to lift their mood.
TO FIT IN - Sometimes it's not direct words or actions making your child feel pressured, it's just a general desire to fit in. Kids can see alcohol as a way to achieve that goal.
- Emphasize that “war stories” – like who drank the most, who blacked out, and who had the worst hangover – only highlight the dangers of drinking.
- Encourage your child to focus on their own values.
