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May 22, 2006
Parents should enforce clear messages about alcohol
Many parents are driving their kids to drink. Some parents think by letting their kids drink with their pals at home fosters responsible drinking and will make alcohol less alluring. The data strongly contradicts this thought. Studies show that teens who get booze from their parents are twice as likely to drink and binge drink, because their parent appears to sanction alcohol use.
Many parents also believe that the Europeans' attitiude towards youthful drinking yields more reasonable consumption. But an international report in 2004 found that 15 and 16 year-olds from 34 European countries drank and participated in binge drinking more often than Americans the same age.
Parents afraid their children will resent the no tolerance rule are relunctant to lay down the law. But research shows that kids need clear rules and enforcement of consquences.
What's a parent to do???
1. Set clear family rules about teen drinking, such as never drink with friends and never ride in a car with a driver who has been drinking.
2. Remind them that underage drinking is illegal, unhealthy and life threatening.
3. Never host a party unless you are willing to supervise it closely. Don't be on the second floor if the party's on the first.
4. Call parents whose home is to be used for a party. Make sure that adults will monitor the kids and that alcohol won't be served.
5. Don't supply liquor for your child's socializing. Parents who do double the chance that their teenager will become a heavy drinker.
6. Monitor the alcohol supply in your home. Make it clear that you don't allow unchaperoned parties in your house.
7. Set a good example. If you use alcohol, use it moderately. Don't glamorize your past alcohol use.
8. Ask your child where he or she is going, who they will be with and what they will be doing. Have your child check in regularly. Get to know your child's friends and their parents.
9. Set a curfew and enforce it
10. Impose consquences if your teen breaks one of your rules. Youth who expected a verbal reprimand if caught drinking were 1.5 times less likely to drink, and youth who anticipated loss of privileges were two times less likely to drink or binge drink than those whose parents did not respond to their drinking.
11. Work on the overall relationship with your teenager. Studies show good parent-child communication, mutual respect and collaborative decision making lower incidences of teen drinking.
12. Don't kid yourself into thinking your child is not at risk.. ALL KIDS ARE AT RISK
To find out more about Parent Corps and how to become a member contact pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 4:38 PM
May 12, 2006
Drug use can damage the brain and lead to addiction
In adults, genetics are more than 50 percent responsible for addiction to alcohol. But new brain-imaging studies have shown that the teenage brain is a rapidly-changing organ and doesn't work the way an adult does. When teen's pleasured-chemical systems are not fully developed and they get wired to depend on substances for feeling good, the normal flow of brain chemicals that aid in learning, decision making and other key processes are often blocked. Drugs and alcohol can disrupt that massive renovation of the brain during adolescence, making it more vulnerable to drugs and easier for teens to get addicted.
Nearly half of kids who are regular drinkers before age 14 will become alcoholic. That puts early drinkers at three times greater risk of alcohol addiction than perople who wait until age 21 to start drinking. Once teens start to drink or use drugs, the consequences turn severe. Recent studies show that teens who start using marijuana before they turn 17 are at higher risk of developing schizophrenia than people who didn't use or started smoking marijuana later in adolescence or young adulthood.
Parental monitoring is one of the most consistent predictors of whether teens start using alcohol and other drugs. That means more than just having a good relationship with your kids. It means knowing where your children are, who they are with, and what they are doing. Children with higher levels of parental monitoring are less likely to start drinking or using drugs. Join Parent Corps today and learn how you can be a positive role model in your child's life. Contact pat.giuliani@parentcorps.org to receive a membership form.
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 5:15 PM | Comments (1)
May 4, 2006
Compliance check finds four businesses in violation
On Thursday, April 27, local Cobb County police with the assistance of teenagers made compliance checks at 30 business in the East Cobb area. The four businesses that failed are: Chevron, 400 N. Cobb Parkway, Cafe' Hot Wings, 1153 Roswell Rd., Faces Lounge, 138 Powers Ferry Road, Clock Tower Inn, 999 Whitlock Ave. Teens using their individual driver's license attempt to make an alcohol purchase. If they are successful then the individual with the teen cites them for noncompliance with the law. The first time a business is cited, it is flagged and monitored. If this is the businesses second time within 12 months, they could lose their liquor license for 28 days. The Georgia Department of Revenue also levies a fine. The employees of these stores will go before the judge who will determine the fine and provided them dates for when they must attend training class on how to avoid selling to underage teens in the future. Although none of the businesses cited in this recent sweep had prior citation this year, two of them, Cafe'Hot Wings and Faces Lounge have citations dated in 2001 and 2003. To find out more about compliance checks and underage drinking in Cobb County go to http://www.cudtf.org
Posted by Pat Giuliani at 2:22 PM