What Every Parent Should Know About Alcohol And The Teenage Brain

We hear cases of it all the time. Teenagers, who have been experimenting with alcohol, sometimes have horrendous, harmful consequences both physically and mentally. What many parents may not be aware of is that according to recent studies, your teenager's experimentation with alcohol could also be harming their developing brains. Alcohol consumed by teenagers is well known to have even worse consequences than the effect that it has on fully-grown adults.

Some of the long-term effects of drinking at a young age include learning difficulties, memory loss, and addiction problems later on in life. These are only some of the associated problems that are currently, scientifically proven. It is time that parents and those in our community took a stand against alcohol use, and experimentation with our teenage children now, rather than later on down the track when the damage has already been done.

Heavy drug abuse is said to be the main conce of many parents, when it comes to addictive substances. Although research suggests that the largest percentage of drug related occurrences are the direct result of alcohol use, not hard drugs. Parents need to be aware that alcohol use among young teens is harmful, unacceptable, and is a dangerous substance among teenagers that needs our attention, rather than our tolerance.

n • In Australia, it is estimated that at least 73% of teenagers try alcohol more than once. • In 2001, over 3,000 teenagers died due to alcohol use, and a further 64,782 needed medical attention after an alcohol related episode. • Teenagers who are exposed to alcohol at an early age are five times more likely to become addicted later in life. • Teenagers who binge-drink are likely to have poor judgment, and engage in dangerous activities such as increased risk taking, unwanted sex, blackouts, vomiting, and being a victim to violent activities. n

Teenage Drinking, What You Can Do As A Parent

The relationships that we have with our teenage children have a bearing on their future development as they grow into well-adjusted adults who take their place in the community. In order to give your teenager the best start in life, they need to be given love, security, a warm and friendly family environment, as well as a firm set of values, and standards to live their lives by.

From an early age, children need boundaries. This helps them define, in later life, what acceptable behaviour is, and what isn’t tolerable. As children reach their teenage years, they need to be taught responsibility within their defined boundaries as a teenager. It is a parent's duty, not prerogative to take an active role in your teenager's life.

As a parent, if you don’t agree with teenage drinking, voice your opinion with other parents, and take a stand for what you feel is the right thing. You just may find that there are many other parents out there who agree with you. By creating a network of parents within your community that includes the parents of your teenager's friends where possible, you can work together towards creating a strong, safe structure for your teenager to socialise in.