Stop Underage Drinking

The most abused drug by minors is ALCOHOL. Underage drinking certainly is a persistent public health problem in the United States. Many teenagers die because of underage drinking and their increased propensity to binge drink has led to more incidents of alcohol poisoning. Suicides, homicides, sexual assaults, car accidents, drownings, falls and different types of violence among teenagers have occurred because of underage drinking. A combined effort from communities, schools, and most importantly from parents can prevent underage drinking.

Approaches to curbing underage drinking can be school-based, through family involvement[1] and implementation of policies on underage drinking. Most of these approaches increase extracurricular involvement of minors as a diversion from drinking alcohol or using any prohibited substances and encourage parents to be proactive in teaching their children the consequences of alcohol abuse and drinking too early in life.[2]

The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is one of the country’s arms against alcohol abuse. They have come up with several strategies that help put a stop on underage drinking.[3]

School-Based Strategies:

• Develop programs based on theories that explain the actual behaviour of teens with careful consideration of risks and protective factors.
• Give students information on the effects of drugs, and the long-term and short-term consequences of taking these drugs.
• Provide an avenue for children to be trained on how to handle peer pressure, stress management, communication skills and assertiveness skills as these are usually what push any child towards early drinking.
• Emphasize normative education that will strengthen a teenager’s awareness on underage alcoholism.

Strategies on Family Involvement:

• For parents, improve your relationship with your child through good communication and giving positive reinforcement when appropriate.
• Set limitations on your child’s behaviour and be consistent in enforcing these rules.
• Be proactively involved with your child’s activities especially during adolescence
• Always make time to go out and do things together as a family. This strengthens family ties and helps to keep children away from bad influences.

Strengthening Underage Drinking Policies:

• Increase the minimum legal drinking age
• Control the distribution of alcohol, this would minimize commercial access.
• Increase penalties on adults who provide children with alcohol
• Increase taxes on alcoholic beverages, by making them more expensive, this would decrease the overall availability [4]

In the fight against underage drinking, EVERYONE must play their role. In order to stop underage drinking, the journey will be challenging at times even discouraging but it is NOT IMPOSSIBLE.