TALKING ABOUT ALCOHOL Keep comments short. Remember, you don’t have to say everything that comes to mind. Kids tend to tune out when parents make big, sweeping comments like “kids getting drunk is terrible.” Well-chosen silence can actually encourage your child to talk more and engage more in the conversation. Middle School Students Make Assumptions, Too Kids who drink say: • They don’t believe drinking makes you sick or has bad effects. • They are bored and there is nothing else to do but drink. • They expect drinking to have benefits, such as improved socializing. • “It can’t be that bad if everyone is doing it,” and “my friends won’t think I’m cool if I don’t drink.” Talk with your child to correct his or her mistaken assumptions about alcohol. Reinforce the proven fact that the majority of kids are NOT drinking. Young People Drink Differently Middle school students may not consciously plan to drink, but they may take an opportunity to experiment. For example, they may be hanging out with friends at a home with an unlocked liquor cabinet, and decide to open up a bottle because there are no parents around. Young people tend to engage in intense drinking, called “binge” drinking. For boys, binge drinking means having
at least 5 drinks within a 2-hour period. For girls, it means at least 4 drinks within that time.
Unfortunately, over the past two weeks: • 11% of 8th graders have consumed alcohol to the point of being drunk • 4% of 8th graders have engaged in binge drinking
Kids who chug alcohol and drink as much as they can— as fast as they can—risk dying from alcohol poisoning. Consider these quotes: “A girl I know got so drunk that she dropped her cellphone down the toilet. She told her parents it was stolen.” “He took a bunch of beers out of his dad’s refrigerator and started showing off how much he could drink. After 6 beers, he passed out.” These accounts sound shocking, but your son, daughter, or someone they know may have experienced something like this.
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