BY MIKE CETERA
Several months ago, we hosted a community forum on teen drinking. We wanted to know -- in light of an alcohol-related car crash that killed several Oswego teens -- what motivates young people to drink and what can be done to discourage them from doing so.
A study released Thursday seems to suggest one avenue: stop enabling them.
The nationwide study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that adults are the source of alcohol for 40 percent of teens who drink..
From the study:
Among all underage current drinkers, 31.0 percent paid for the alcohol the last time they drank, including 9.3 percent who purchased the alcohol themselves and 21.6 percent who gave money to someone else to purchase it (Table 4.3). The remaining 69.0 percent of underage drinkers did not pay for the alcohol on their last drinking occasion. More than one in four underage drinkers (25.8 percent) indicated that on their last drinking occasion they were given alcohol for free by an unrelated person aged 21 or older. Nearly one in five underage drinkers were given alcohol for free by a member of their family or took the alcohol from their own home on their last drinking occasion, including 6.4 percent who were given alcohol by their parent or guardian, 8.3 percent who were given alcohol by another family member aged 21 or older, and 3.9 percent who took it from their own home.(emphasis added)
From an Associated Press story:
"In far too many instances parents directly enable their children's underage drinking -- in essence encouraging them to risk their health and well-being," said acting Surgeon General Steven K. Galson. "Proper parental guidance alone may not be the complete solution to this devastating public health problem -- but it is a critical part."
Teenagers will be teenagers. Drinking has been a part of the teenage experience, I'm guessing, since someone discovered fermented grapes give you a nice buzz. But -- if any of us is really serious about curbing underage drinking -- we all should start a campaign targeting adults, not teenagers.
Explain to them why giving alcohol to kids is unacceptable. If that doesn't work, rat them out to police.
.
I guess... although it would only affect at most 40%, not a majority, of the teen drinking cases. Seems like a waste of energy to focus an anti-teenage-drinking campaign on that. (setin' the bar kinda low for results) And as everyone knows it is more challenging (if not impossible) to change the habits of adults than it is for kids.
I never drank but I think teenage drinking was only a 'problem' for a few.
But I like the idea of putting pressure on parents. I think there is an overall trend of lazy parenting in the US. This would be one step in the right direction.
I have two kids, one now 20 and the other 18, who at this point still choose not to drink.
Drinking along with drinking and driving has been a topic of conversation in our home since they were toddlers, in age appropriate ways. They both know that their uncle, my brother, was killed by a drunk driver on his way home from college basketball practice. They know their paternal grandfather died due to the result of long-term alcoholism when they were 5 and 7. So they have always known the negative effects of alcohol.
They have seen the correct use modeled throughout their lives by their father and me: drinking in moderation. They have not ever seen either of us drunk, nor have we ever been drunk. We do not feel the need to have a drink every night or more than one or two in an evening. It was always as an accompaniment to food. If my husband had a beer when we were out to dinner, I would drive home and vice versa.
My son saw first hand the dangers of overimbibing in the first few weeks of college, when he rode in an ambulance with a friend who had been out partying and had too much to drink. My son had stayed back at the dorm and had received a call from some other friends asking him to make sure this guy got back to his dorm room okay. Staying for six hours in an emergency room with a friend whose alcohol level was so high he came close to dying will make an impact on you. To this day, he does not drink, especially since what he sees at college right now is binge drinking and overimbibing. It's not even tempting to him. As he has said, if what he saw at college was the proper use of alcohol, maybe then he would consider it.
My daughter will be off to college this fall. She has chosen a school where the drinking culture is not as prevalent, She has learned through the stories her brother tells. She is off to college armes with a list of groups and organizations to get involved in that will allow her to keep her commitment to stay away from alcohol until she is 21, and to use it in moderation at that time if she so chooses. She already has a leadership training position lined up with one of the organizations. I truly believe that she will stick to her guns on the issue of drinking, in part because of our example and the discussions we have had over the years, and in part because she truly doesn't understand why people need alcohol to have fun.
By the way, both kids are graduates of public schools. And our home was often the chosen hangout during their high school years. It still is today. Our basement is often full of teenagers who love to hang out to play ping pong, foosball, video games, and watch movies. They all know they are welcome to the abundance of pop, water and gatorade kept in the basement fridge. They also know that they are expected to stop and talk to me for a few moments before they head downstairs...and all of them do, They'll plop down on the couch by me and let me know what is up in their lives. They also know that my husband and I will be popping down into the basement frequently to see how things are going, check if they need any snacks, and reload some things into the fridge if needed.
This is something that needs to be a part of the conversation in the home and needs to be modeled properly. Not all teenagers drink as some kids have been quoted over the last year. My two along with their closest friends, have chosen to stay out of that activity.