Teen Drinking

Posted by Mary McCarthy Jun 30, 2008

You NEVER think it's going to be your teen. All the other kids in the neighborhood, sure. The 'group of bad kids' at the high school, absolutely. But your precious angel you raised from an infant? Never ever. So what are you supposed to do when you discover that your teen has been in a situation where alcohol was involved?

This is a tricky, awful subject for parents. Nobody wants to talk about it- you don't want to tell friends (because you're embarrassed) and it's such an extreme violation of trust, how are you supposed to handle your teen? You can ground them into the next millennium, but what you really want as a parent is to be sure they don't ever get into circumstances where their safety is in jeopardy.

As parents, we have to think back a bit in time. Did we ever sneak a taste or two of mom's wine or dad's beer? Pour a bit out of the liquor bottle, mark the spot, and fill it with water? If not, then we can't even begin to imagine our little offspring going down that road. But if we, as teens, experimented with alcohol a time or two, then we should try to be realistic about our own teen's - er- 'natural curiosity.'

Every parent (like every teen) is different. There is no golden rule, and like most things in parenthood, you have to make it up as you go along. Remember, if you haven't set perameters and given your teen a list of rules to follow, they won't automatically 'know better' (something about the brain cells not being mature enough...) so ultimately you are going to have to bite the bullet and talk to them.

Which means you'll definitely need a drink.

(just kidding!)