“I started drinking when I was 13.”
– Christine, Age 17
The Princeton Review just released its ranking of the nation’s biggest party schools – billed as the list of colleges where students really know how to have a good time. For some kids, those times are starting way before college. CDC research reports that 72 percent of high school students have used alcohol. How can parents recognize warning signs that their teen may have a drinking problem?
The stiffest drink 17-year-old Christine pours for herself these days is a soda. It’s a big change for Christina, who had a serious drinking problem at the age of 13.
“Like a shot every day,” Christine says. “A shot every day.”
Looking back Christine now blames alcohol for trouble she got into with police, fights that eventually landed her in a juvenile detention center boot camp.
She wrote a poem about it called ‘Locked Up’
Cry myself to sleep at night
Hold myself tight
Locked up isn’t where I want to be
How I miss my family.
What’s most surprising is that Christine’s mother had no idea her daughter had a problem with alcohol.
“I didn’t see it,” she says.
And experts say that’s not uncommon. Teenagers start drinking, and their parents don’t even know what signs to look for. One early warning sign: a dramatic change in attitude or behavior.
You’ve got to be more careful, more vigilant,” says Dr. Robert Margolis. “Checking, seeing what’s going on, including monitoring with alcohol or drug screens, from a very early age might not be a bad idea.”
Now Christine is sober and talks to other younger kids about what drinking did to her. About the empty picture frame at her house, a frame she still hopes to one day fill with a high school diploma.
What We Need To Know
Alcoholism is a primary, chronic disease with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental factors influencing its development and manifestations. The disease is often progressive and fatal. It is characterized by continuous or periodic: impaired control over drinking, preoccupation with the drug alcohol, use of alcohol despite adverse consequences, and distortions in thinking, most notably denial.
Kids at highest risk for alcohol-related problems include those who:
- Began using alcohol or other drugs before the age of 15
- Have a parent who is a problem drinker or an alcoholic
- Have close friends who use alcohol and/or other drugs
- Have been aggressive, antisocial, or hard to control from an early age
- Have experienced childhood abuse and/or major traumas
- Have current behavioral problems and/or failing in school
- Have parents who do not support them, do not communicate with them, and do not keep track of their behavior or whereabouts
- Experience ongoing hostility or rejection form parents and/or harsh, inconsistent discipline
According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, warning signs of teenage alcohol and drug abuse may include:
- Physical – fatigue, repeated health complaints, red and glazed eyes, and a lasting cough.
- Emotional – personality change, sudden mood changes, irritability, irresponsible behavior, low self-esteem, poor judgment, depression, and a general lack of interest.
- Family – starting arguments, breaking rules, or withdrawing from the family.
- School – decreased interest, negative attitude, drop in grades, many absences, truancy, and discipline problems.
- Social problems – new friends who are less interested in standard home and school activities, problems with the law, and changes to less conventional styles in dress and music.
The following are some suggested strategies for helping your child to avoid alcohol-related problems:
- Establish a loving, trusting relationship with your child
- Make it easy for your teen to talk honestly with you
- Talk with your child about alcohol facts, reasons no to drink, and ways to avoid drinking in difficult situations
- Keep tabs on your teen’s activities, and join with other parents in making common policies about teen alcohol use
- Develop family rules about teen drinking and establish consequences
- Set a good example regarding your own alcohol use an d your response to teen drinking
- Encourage your child to develop healthy friendships and fun alternatives to drinking
- Know whether your child is at high risk for a drinking problem; if so, take steps to, lessen risks
- Know the warning signs of a teen drinking problem and act promptly to get help for your child
- Believe in your own power to help your child
Resources
- CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results
- National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency
- American Academy for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Make a Difference: Talk to Your Child About Alcohol
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