Start Talking Early

“Start the talking early” Behaviors and trends

The PATS study also indicates that youth are starting to drink at a younger age with about 10 percent of nine-year-olds reporting they had consumed more than a sip of alcohol. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) reports that one-third of children, ages 12 to 17, had their first drink before 13. Very young drinkers are becoming a major concern. Unfortunately, this trend will have serious consequences in the future since research from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism indicates that children who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to have drinking problems than those who start drinking at age 21 or later.

Signs and influences

Studies have zeroed in on several important factors in predicting a first-grader’s subsequent use of substances: shyness, aggressiveness, rebelliousness, and gender. External risk factors include; substance use among peers, drug use by parents, and troubles with the police, what they see at home modeled at home, socially, media and music.

What you can do & Conversation starters:

What do you think alcohol is?
Do you know what age you need to be to drink alcohol?
Do you know that some candy can have alcohol in it? (Reinforce that they should never take candy or a drink from anyone)
Lock up your alcohol
Talk to your kids about the drug-related messages they receive through advertisements, the news media, and entertainment sources. These messages may conflict with what you’ve taught them. Some TV shows or movies may even glamorize drinking/drug use. Encourage your kids to ask your questions about the messages they learn in other places. And remember to ask them how they feel about what they’ve heard – you’ll learn a great deal about what they’re thinking.
Make sure your child knows your rules – and that you’ll enforce the consequences if rules are broken. Research shows that kids are less likely to use alcohol/drugs if their parents have established a pattern of setting clear rules and consequences.
Role play with your child where people offer him/her drugs/alcohol, and help strengthen their exit plan.
Offer tools that help them out of a sticky situation. Kids who don’t know what to say or how to get away are more likely to give in to peer pressure. Let them know to use you as an excuse.
Model for them responsible drinking, before you go out socially discuss who the designated driver will be.

To learn more about underage drinking and how to help prepare your child to handle peer pressure read the The Sober Truth issue free on the MASKmatters App

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