AHS Views

Alcohol and kids. I think anyone would be hard-pressed to find a parent who drinks alcohol who doesn’t also allow their teenage, under-age, kids to drink at home. Parents figure that the kids are going to drink anyway, so if they’re drinking at home, or in the home of friends who also live with their parents, then they’re safe. For some reason, parents don’t seem to think of the alcohol abuse as dangerous – they’re just looking at how the kids are going to get home from wherever they are, or other trouble they could get into.

Parents also tend to think that the kids will drink less if they’re at home – after all, the parents are there, or could come home any minute. But parents often retire to their bedroom or some other part of the house to let the kids have their party without interference.

Well, guess what? There have been many alcohol-related deaths right in those homes, with the parents right there – sometimes sleeping while the kids party – and it’s because of alcohol poisoning.

Did you know that drinking just 8 ounces of vodka over an hour or two can lead to coma and death?

Did you know that some people are actually allergic to alcohol and can go into anaphylactic shock with very little alcohol in their system?

Did you know that some of the kids who are drinking might also be taking drugs that could have fatal interactions with alcohol?

Did you know that when someone passes out from drinking they’re not just ‘drunk’, they’ve been poisoned. And their blood alcohol level will continue to rise while they’re ‘sleeping’ People say ‘let them sleep it off.’ In fact, that’s the worst thing you can do. The person is in such a toxic state, they can’t even stay conscious. They could die.

Did you know that the ‘normal’ effects of being drunk – vomiting, mental confusion, you know: “drunk” – is actually the result of being poisoned?

Did you know that alcohol poisoning can lead to permanent brain damage?

Did you know that kids who drink while in their teens are likely to be adult alcoholics and will eventually need alcohol rehab to get over it?

It’s time to take a cold, hard look at what you’re really allowing your kids to do. They’re not just having a good time, blowing off steam or having a nice relaxing stress-free get together with their friends. They are poisoning themselves.

Not only is it extremely dangerous for the kids – you can, in many states be prosecuted for allowing under-age drinking in your home. You can literally be sent to prison for it.
And if anything serious happens – like one of the kids, including your own, dies – you will be charged with murder.

Want to be your kids’ friend? Find another way to do it. Friendship does not include standing by while someone is poisoned.

If your efforts to educate them and use other methods to get them to stop drinking fail, it’s time to find addiction help services that will get them through the problem and out the other side.

If you’re worried about making sure your kids don’t turn into alcoholics, the best thing to do is start taking precautions against that when they’re very young. If you don’t do that, they could wind up in need of addiction help quite soon, and if they don’t get it, they could be fighting alcoholism all their lives. So, what do you do when you’re starting early?

First, educate them. Not lecture, just kindly give them the information they need. This means you’re going to have to get educated yourself. What is alcohol? How is it made? What is the real effect it creates on the body? Why it is poisonous? Show them drunk driving and domestic violence statistics. Binge drinking. And so on. They need to know what it is, what is does.

Second, set a good example. Don’t drink yourself or limit your drinking to once a week or so and then only have a small glass of wine or something like that. But, truthfully, even drinking in moderation sends the wrong message. The message is that no one needs alcohol. Period.

Third, keep them busy with activity that will give them a sense of purpose, accomplishment and satisfaction. The activity(ies) should be chosen by them, something they’re interested in, not something you’re interested in. It doesn’t matter if it’s track and field, ballet, making jewelry or astronomy. Encourage their personal interests and help them learn about them.

There are no guarantees, but if you want your kids to have the best chance of staying drug and alcohol free and avoiding drug or alcohol rehab in the future, this will give you a good start.