“Thank goodness my child doesn’t do drugs,” you say with a sigh of relief. It scares me to say this, but many parents believe, rather misguidedly, that if their teenage son or daughter drinks alcohol, then they are not ‘doing drugs’. Many parents don’t actually appreciate that alcohol is a drug, nor do they understand some of the very real dangers of underage drinking.
“It is a shocking and worrying statistic that one teenager between the ages of 14 and 17 dies each week as a result of alcohol abuse. Many more are hospitalised. Binge drinking can lead to violence, high risk sexual activity, depression and in some instances, brain damage and alcohol dependence” according to Dr Christine Bennett, Chief Medical Officer, MBF, Australia.
Research reveals that binge drinking has reached epidemic levels in Australia as alcohol consumption has now become the biggest single social issue for teens facing our country. Professor Margaret Hamilton from the National Drug and Alcohol Council reports that binge drinking is a term given to the dangerous practice of consuming large quantities of alcoholic beverages (more than five standard drinks) in a single session. Binge drinking is an Australian phenomenon and contrary to popular belief is a greater problem in Australia than in any other country. It’s as if Australians see this as some kind of ’rite of passage’ and accept teenage drinking as inevitable. There’s a worrying complacency in this attitude that must be addressed by all families.
Here’s some of the cold hard facts about teenagers drinking in Australia:
• By age 18, more than 70% of teenagers have had a least one drink (MBF)
• 25% of those aged 14-19years drank alcohol on a daily or weekly basis in the last 12 months (ABS: Alcohol Consumption in Australia 2004-05 Report)
• Over 80% of all the alcohol consumed by 14-17 year olds is drunk at risky/high risk levels for acute harm (National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University)
• 1 in 10 teenagers binge drink
• More teens drink alcohol than smoke or use drugs (MBF Report)
• Alcohol kills more teenagers than deaths from all illicit drugs combined
• Over 3000 Australians die each year as a result of harmful drinking (ABS)
• Over 3000 14-17 year olds were hospitalised for alcohol-attributable injury and disease 1999-00 (NDRI)
• 28.5% of high school students nationwide rode in a car driven by someone who had been drinking - one or more times in the 30 days prior to the NSDU survey
• 51% of alcohol consumed is drunk at levels that pose a risk of short-term harm (ABS)
What do we know about the development of the teenage brain?
We don’t know everything but we do know that drinking during the adolescent years interrupts brain development. (Dr Susan Tapert, University of California) and in particular:
• Alcohol is a toxin and disrupts this crucial window of development.
• Alcohol can lead to problems such as learning difficulties, cognitive deficits, memory impairment and emotional problems like depression and anxiety.
• Teenage drinking is dangerous. Alcohol inhibits teenager’s ability to think through consequences of their actions causing them to take silly risks like getting into fights, drink driving, unwanted sex and serious accidents.
The best advice that doctors and experts in the field of adolescent development suggest is that parents delay teenage drinking for as long as possible, at least until 18 years old. Don’t give alcohol at home to underage teenagers and don’t buy alcohol for your teenager, in some misguided hope that they won’t take drugs.
What does the research tell us?
Research shows that children are less likely to drink when parents are involved in their lives and when they and their parents report feeling close to one another. It also tells us that teens who begin drinking by age 15 are five times more likely to become dependent on alcohol than those who start at 21. The chances of becoming dependent decrease by 14% for each year the introduction of alcohol is delayed. (drinkwise.com.au)
Tips for Parents: Delay, delay, delay!
• Drink responsibly yourself and don’t glorify drinking and intoxication. Be a good role model and be consistent in your attitude and behaviour in relation to drinking alcohol. Explain the importance of ‘drinking responsibly’ to your child.
• The more you talk to your son or daughter about alcohol before they are of an age to drink alcohol, the less likely they are to drink to excess. It’s important to talk to young people about enjoying life without relying on stimulants such as alcohol – after all it’s addictive - the brain becomes accustomed to the stimulus and requires more and more to be satisfied.
• Talk to your son or daughter’s friends’ parents about drinking alcohol and get a consensus about not allowing underage drinking.
• Talk to your child about peer pressure and drinking alcohol. The more strategies young people have before the ‘peer pressure’ the more prepared they will be to handle the situation.
• Use this newsletter as an opportunity to talk to your (pre) teenage son or daughter about drinking alcohol. It's very important that families share a meal together at the dining room table each night. Don’t underestimate the power of this simple practice to reinforce good messages to your children and research shows that it also reduces the risk of young people using drugs.
Research shows that the partnership between parents and the school is one of the best protective factors for young people; working together we can help mould our young people into fine, upstanding and responsible adults. Trust me, it’s definitely worth the effort!
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