Getting Started
This page provides tips and resources to help you talk with your child about underage drinking. After reading the material below, use the activities on the next two pages to start a discussion with your child about alcohol.
Provide a Clear Message About Alcohol:
Research shows that youth are less likely to drink and have fewer alcohol-related problems when their parents discipline them and set clear expectations about alcohol.3 Below are some tips on how to provide a clear and consistent message about alcohol in the home.
- Discuss family rules about alcohol. Make it clear that it is your expectation that your children will not use alcohol if they are underage. Enforce the rules that you set.
- Discuss the laws about underage drinking. Make it clear that drinking under the age of 21 is against the law.
- Teach your children about the dangers of underage drinking.
- Monitor alcohol in your home. Make sure that alcohol is not available at parties given by your children in your home.
- Think carefully about what to tell children about your own experiences, if any, in using alcohol as a teen. If you were an underage drinker, share lessons that you learned from that experience. Be sure to explain that the decision to take part in underage drinking was not a good idea then, and it is not a good idea now.
- If you drink yourself, be sure to drink responsibly around your children. Don’t drink and drive. Consider not serving alcohol at parties that include your children.
- Help your children find ways to have fun with their friends that don’t involve alcohol.
- Help your children get professional help if you think they may be abusing alcohol.
Activity Directions
Activity 1: Get the facts about alcohol
Have your child take the quiz and read through the answers. Sit down with your child to go over the questions and answers. Discuss: Were any of the answers surprising? Why is it helpful to know the facts about the effects of alcohol?
Activity 2: Making smart choices
This activity provides two scenarios that your child might face in which he or she needs to make a decision about alcohol. Sit down with your child and discuss how you might react if you were in that situation. What facts about the effects of alcohol would support your decision? It’s important to acknowledge that it is not always easy to say “No” to your friends. Brainstorm different techniques that your child might use to get out of a risky situation.
For more information, check out these resources:
3 Hawkins JD, Graham JW , Maguin E, et al. 1997. Exploring the Effects
of Age of Alcohol Use Initiation and Psychosocial Risk Factors on Subsequent Alcohol
Misuse. Journal of Studies on Alcohol 58 (3): 280-290.
Download the PDF
