Sharon Scott, LPC, LMFT - Binge Drinking and Younger
According to the Center for Disease Control, about 90% of all teen alcohol consumption occurs in the form of binge drinking. When I was growing up I knew no girls who drank and the few guys who did drink shared a six-pack of beer. Binge drinking was unheard of. Approximately 200,000 adolescents visit emergency rooms each year because of drinking-related incidents, and more than 1,700 college students die. Forty-one percent of 12th graders report having had a drink in the previous 30 days. Younger kids are getting involved too-often obtaining the alcohol from the parent's liquor cabinet during sleepovers.
Listen to Families Online Radio Interview with Sharon Scott
Books That Work!
By Sharon Scott
Family counselor Sharon Scott is the author of 8 books including this delightful series for children that is "co-authored" by her savvy cocker spaniel Nicholas who makes learning valuable life skills fun.
Too Smart for Trouble , a best-selling, award-winning book, teaches children to think on their own and how to say no when asked to do something wrong.
Not Better... Not Worse... Just Different is must reading for children to learn to be more sensitive to others, avoid bullying and know how to handle teasing.
Life's Not Always Fair is a child's guide for managing emotions and learning to soothe oneself when mad, sad, scared or confused.
Nicholas' Values is a delightful guide helping children develop good character traits such as honesty, confidence, sharing and so much more!
Too Cool for Drugs helps children learn why and how to say no to drugs--drug education must begin in the home at an early age!
Besides the goal of getting drunk as quickly and cheaply as possible, another change is mixing alcohol with super-caffeinated energy drinks (such as Red Bull with vodka). This is often called Jungle Juice. This is a lethal combination because the caffeine blocks the part of alcohol that makes a person sleepy and might allow them to pass out before consuming more and more alcohol. By the time some of these kids get to the hospital, they have to be put temporarily on respirators due to depressed breathing according to Dr. Mary O'Brien, an emergency medicine physician. The FDA required the caffeine be removed from an alcoholic beverage called Four Loko which is very popular around the country. Each 23.5 oz. can have the alcohol equivalent of four to five beers. Kids say it tastes like candy and is cheap.
The third change is the switch from beer to liquor among even high school kids. Shots are part of drinking games and 10 or more is not that unusual.
What's a parent to do? First, begin talking to them in mid elementary school about the harm of alcohol. Help them to understand marketing techniques and how the industry wants people to drink because it makes them money. If there is alcohol in your home, have it in a safe location away from kids. If you drink, do so in moderation. Throw some parties without alcohol so that kids can see that adults can have fun without drinking alcohol. Think of other things you can do to celebrate special events (new year's day, promotions etc.) without alcohol.
And, most importantly, teach your child specific ways to identify and manage negative peer group pressure-which is where drinking (and other problem behavior) invariably begins. My parent guide, "Peer Pressure Reversal: An Adult Guide to Developing a Responsible Child, 2nd Ed.," is a good resource for the parent or teacher on how to help kids manage peer pressure. An award-winning book I wrote for teens is "How to Say No and Keep Your Friends, 2nd Ed." and would make good summer reading with you. For elementary-age children, I authored "Too Cool for Drugs" which is must reading for the younger ones. I have personally taught these proven techniques to over a million people world-wide and I receive calls regularly from parents who want to tell me about how their child confidently handled a trouble situation because of their teaching him/her my peer pressure reversal skills.
Copyright © 2011, Sharon Scott. No reproduction without written permission from author.
P.S. Please see my other column Barbie Nightmares.
