..to talk about alcohol

“As a parent, the worst thing you can say about alcohol is nothing at all“

Most of us like a drink, only 22-24% of people don’t drink alcohol, but can you remember the first taste of alcohol you ever had? I remember having a snowball at a party my family went to, I could only have been about 10 years old. Eeewww, I still remember that awful taste. Anyone out there like a snowball? Are they still in existence? Having alcoholism in the family I have always been aware of the effects of alcohol and adamant that I would do things ‘right’ with my children.

What is right though?

I always believed that if you used the ‘continental’ approach of allowing a small glass of wine from about the age of fourteen years on special occasions they would grow up with a responsible attitude to alcohol. It seems that I am wrong and there is now evidence to suggest that the earlier a child starts drinking the higher their chances of becoming dependent on it as an adult. Oh…dear… That is my children banned from touching a drop of alcohol until they are at least eighteen then.

However, I have always tried to guide my children rather than ban anything. I don’t think you can say no to a child without explaining why, luckily with alcohol we can be equipped with lots of reasons why not. Apart from the obvious that a drunk child is vulnerable, at risk from having unprotected sex and alcohol poisoning there are the long term risks too. Drinking whilst the brain is still developing can have a long term impact on memory, reactions and attention span. Then there is the damage it does to those young livers and apparently binge drinking when young makes a person more likely to binge drink when they are adults.

Scary facts…

• Two teenagers fell off a cliff and died in Newquay in 2009 whilst drunk
• 13.8 years old is the average age a child has their first unsupervised drink
• 21,000 children are admitted to hospital with alcohol poisoning every year
• 54% of young people drink because of peer pressure

On the upside 55% of 11-15 year olds have never drunk alcohol.

Drinkaware.co.uk have just launched a campaign and I was lucky enough to be invited to a discussion with various authorities on matters including alcohol and parenting. From a personal point of view being a mother of five children these were my worries about alcohol before I went to the meeting.

• My son getting into a car with a driver that has been drinking
• My son getting drunk and falling over and banging his head
• My son being a victim of violence from someone drunk
• Drink drivers
• My children developing an addiction to alcohol

Ideas that I came away with yesterday from the panel:

• Prepare your children “You wouldn’t dream of letting your child cross the road unprepared”
• Teens aren’t really bothered about the long term effects or even scare mongering stories, they all believe they are invincible but they do care about their looks, how they behave when drunk and not making a fool of themselves
• Teens drink for effect not for taste and it doesn’t look cool when you are stumbling around making a fool of yourself.
• “Alcohol and hormonal teens are a bad combination”
• Make sure you teach your children to look out for their friends, get drunk friends home to their parents whatever the consequences. They would rather a live drunk child than a dead one that has choked on their vomit with well meaning friends.
• Give children a way out ( so they don’t feel pressured to do something they are uncomfortable with) encourage sport participation on Saturday/Sundays then they have an excuse why they can’t possibly have a drink
• Sit down as a family and make rules and remember to talk to other parents.
• Practise Positive Parenting. Give your children life skills from a very early age to increase their self esteem so that they feel confident enough to stick to what they believe in and not be influenced by peer pressure.
• Talk about the different types of alcohol and their strengths.

I certainly feel better equipped now. At the moment only 17% of parents have a plan to talk to their children about alcohol but the main message that drink aware are putting across is that we need to get talking. This ideally needs to be from a very young age, certainly way before they hit their teens. The website drinkaware.co.uk has a wealth of information including an interactive conversation with a child asking for a glass of wine.  You can also order a leaflet “Your Kids and Alcohol” which contains some great advice, if you register you can order up to 170 leaflets.  Also for schools there is a lifeskills education programme at In Tuition. I will be passing this information on to my children’s schools.

This has certainly got me thinking…a lot. Hence the very long post. I hope you get thinking and talking too.