…is not the text message you can count on after your 16 y/o downs her seventh Jägerbomb of the night.
Underage drinking is not a new phenomenon. But the rules are changing, and teen binge drinking is more dangerous than ever.
This post highlights recent research, and what you can do to stop extreme teen drinking.
Not A Minor Problem
“Hello. My name is Mary, and I’m calling because my friend Helen told me you provide counseling to teenagers who, um…well, my son is sixteen and he was caught drinking at school. I’m hoping you can talk to him. My husband and I don’t know what to do anymore. Please call me.”
Approximately 200,000 adolescents are hospitalized each year for drinking-related incidents, and more than 1,700 college students die from them, according to the CDC.
Nearly 10.8 million youth, ages 12-20, are underage drinkers.
More teens drink alcohol than smoke or use drugs.
“The adolescent brain is much more sensitive to alcohol toxicity than adults,’ including being vulnerable to death,” says Dr. Fulton Crews, director of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies. “Adolescents showed much more frontal cortical damage than adults. We found that one high dose of alcohol caused significant loss of brain stem cells.”
“We’re seeing kids coming in with blood alcohol levels in the mid-.3s, even .4, which is four to five times the legal limit for driving. That’s the level at which 50% of people die,” says Dr. Mary Claire O’Brien, an emergency room physician. “Ten years ago we saw those levels only in chronic alcoholics.”
Not Your Parents’ Frat Party
Kegs and watered down beer may have been the drink choices of the past, but in this wasted day and age, potentially lethal concoctions with names like Jungle Juice, Suicide in a Kettle, Panty Dropping Punch, and Purple Jesus make the underage drinking circuit.
“Three beers, a can of Red Bull and a large espresso,” is how many college students described Four Loko. This sweetened beverage (that used to contain caffeine, but has since been reformulated), comes in a 23.5-ounce can and has the alcohol equivalent of roughly four to five beers.
Four Loko (AKA Blackout In A Can) is one of a few flashy, canned drinks that take the mixing out of the equation, making it much easier for minors to get dangerously intoxicated, faster.
“The caffeine blocks the part of alcohol that makes you sleepy and might otherwise cause you to pass out. This enables you to drink far more than you might have. By the time many of these kids get to the hospital, they have to be put temporarily on respirators because of depressed breathing,” says Dr. O’Brien.
“Look. I don’t know why my parents are so freaked out. I don’t need to be here. I’m not depressed. Me and my buddies didn’t cause any harm. We were drinking in the bathroom; I mean, it’s not like the whole school doesn’t know about kids drinking on campus, anyway. Shit, a few years back the high schoolers used to come to our middle school to drink and buy drugs.”
Not On Your Watch
- Know the warning signs. Has he been caught or observed intoxicated, or high? Is there a change in his peer group that is more oriented toward regular use of alcohol or drugs? Have you searched his room or backpack and found paraphernalia that he claims belongs to a friend? Check for drastic behavioral changes such as lethargy, isolation from family and friends, truancy, and a drop in grades.
- Set clear rules about alcohol use. Enforce those rules.
- Talk. Underage drinking is a family problem that requires a family solution. Acknowledge openly and honestly family issues which may be contributing to the need to escape. Commit to reducing family stress. If you drink yourself, drink responsibly.
- Supervise, supervise, and supervise. You can have “eyes and ears” on your kid even when not in their presence. Talk to school personnel, call the attendance office to verify absences, meet your daughter’s friends’ parents, and enforce curfew. Nothing embarrasses her more than when you crash Ditch Day, or drag her to the car once you’ve identified the neighborhood “party house.”
- Establish a code word. If he’s at a party and things are getting out of hand, allow him to call you for an out. Often kids will remain in risky situations rather than lose face in front of their peers. And that peer may be about to get behind the wheel…
- Tell her to call 911 if the situation is dire, and someone is passed out. Stress that it’s critical to call for help, even if this means possible legal/parental consequences.
- Help her find ways to have fun without alcohol.
- Don’t be afraid to administer a random drug test, which can be purchased from the drug store (no pun intended).
“I completely understand that you want to trust your son and give him freedom so he can make mistakes and learn from them. I know his angry outbursts are scary for the entire family, and you’re both worried about the stress on your younger children. It sounds like this problem isn’t going away on its own, and I commend you for getting help now. But given his recent behaviors at home and at school, do you think it’s wise to trust him to make the right decisions regarding how he spends his time on the weekends?”
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Who’s responsible for underage drinking? Is it colleges and universities, social media, parents, teens, or everyone?
Can extreme teen drinking be stopped?
Your voice matters. Please share your wisdom in the comment box below.
If you liked this post, please share it on your favorite social media site, or send the link to an adult/teen who would benefit.
Take care,
~Linda
{Photos: Ethos magazine; AUEE1967 via Flickr}
