Do you remember all of that real peer pressure & drinking from your younger years (not that long ago)!?
If you remember peer pressure from when you were a kid then that is why you have to be ready and prepared for a conversation with your children about peer pressure. Alcohol is the drug of choice with most teenagers today and is a serious health problem.
More than 24% of 14 to 15 year old’s admitted to drinking at least one drink in 2019. Seven million between 17 and 22 have drunk “more than a few sips” within the past month. With those numbers, it is most likely a topic you want to be prepared and ready to talk about. With 4.2 million underage kids reporting binge drinking-which puts them at a risk of injury, physical or sexual assault, and death. Makes this a necessary topic to have sooner rather than later.
Now with those numbers, it probably has you wondering what is the best way to keep your child safe.
Let’s talk punishment and consequences:
The key to this is consistency. Lay out your rules and consequences for breaking the rules but these need laid out when you are both not angry to establish these. You have to be consistent in setting these but also remain consistent in enforcement of them also. Studies have linked inconsistent discipline and hostility to underage drinking. Defeats the purpose and exhibits mixed messaging to your teenager.
Follow up:
Once the groundwork of laying these rules and consequences out in the open you will want to follow up and monitor within perimeters so not to hover or suffocate your child in the process. Here are some helpful tips from PsychCentral on monitoring your child without being overprotective. Studies have shown that if you show your children they are being monitored it decreases the chances of them experimenting with drinking.
This awareness campaign is brought to you in partnership with the Tuscarawas County Anti-Drug Coalition.