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Teen drinking: Talking to your teen about alcohol
The time to start talking to your teen about teen drinking is now. Follow these tips to help prevent underage alcohol use.
By Mayo Clinic staffParents often underestimate how early teen drinking starts, the amount of alcohol teens drink and the risks involved. But teen drinking isn't inevitable. You can encourage your teen to avoid alcohol by talking to him or her about the risks of teen drinking and the importance of making good decisions.
Why teens drink
Teens are particularly vulnerable to alcohol use. The physical changes of puberty may make your teen feel self-conscious and more likely to take risks to fit in or please others — such as experiment with alcohol. Also, your teen may have trouble understanding that his or her actions have consequences.
Common risk factors for teen drinking include:
- Transitions, such as the move from middle school to high school or getting a driver's license
- Increased stress at home or school
- Family problems, such as conflict or parental alcohol abuse
- A history of behavior problems
Consequences of teen drinking
Whatever causes a teen to drink, the consequences may be the same. For example, teen drinking can lead to:
- Alcohol-related traffic accidents. Alcohol-related accidents are a leading cause of teen deaths. Teen drownings, suicides and murders also have been linked with alcohol use.
- Sexual activity. Teens who drink tend to become sexually active earlier and have sex more often than do teens who don't drink. Teens who drink are also more likely to have unprotected sex than are teens who don't drink.
- School problems. Teens who drink tend to have more academic and conduct problems than do teens who don't drink. Also, drinking can lead to temporary or permanent suspension from sports and other extracurricular activities.
- Alcohol dependence. People who begin drinking as young teens are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than are people who wait until they're adults to drink, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
- Being a victim of violent crime. Alcohol-related crimes may include rape, assault and robbery.
Research also shows that teen drinking may harm brain development.
Next page(1 of 2)
- Facts about alcohol and adolescent health. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/AboutNIAAA/NIAAASponsoredPrograms/AlcoholAdolescentHealth.htm. Accessed Jan. 13, 2009.
- Talk to your child about alcohol. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/children.pdf. Accessed Jan. 13, 2009.
- The Surgeon General's call to action to prevent and reduce underage drinking 2007. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/underagedrinking/calltoaction.pdf. Accessed Jan. 13, 2009.
- The Surgeon General's call to action to prevent and reduce underage drinking: What it means to you. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/underagedrinking/familyguide.pdf. Accessed Jan. 13, 2009.
- Alcohol alert. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/AA67/AA67.htm. Accessed Jan. 13, 2009.
- Tapert SF, et al. Alcohol and the adolescent brain - human studies. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh284/205-212.htm. Accessed Jan. 13, 2009.
- Teens: Alcohol and other drugs. American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. http://www.aacap.org/cs/root/facts_for_families/teens_alcohol_and_other_drugs. Accessed Feb. 5, 2009.
- Morse RM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 16, 2009.
