Parents of teenagers in Louisiana, and around the country, have many concerns. One of these activities is underage drinking. Here are a few ways that you can help prevent this from happening or at least decrease the risk.
Demonstrate responsible behavior
In order for your teens to know the proper behaviors that they should have in life, they should see those behaviors from you. This includes refraining from drinking in front of your children or getting behind the wheel of a car if you have been drinking in order to avoid being charged with a DUI if you are stopped. Let your teens know the rules of the home and that underage drinking is not allowed by them or their friends while also explaining the health and legal risks associated with drinking.
Offer support
One way that you can decrease the risk of underage drinking is to support your teens in things that they want to do, such as sports, clubs at school, and hobbies. Try to be available for your teens so that they can ask questions, giving them honest answers so that they don’t ask others who might give them the wrong information or who might try to get them to experiment with drinking or other drugs in order to find out how they could feel. Another way to get involved is to talk to other parents so that they know where you stand with drinking and so that you know how they feel about the topic.
As a parent of a teen, there are ways that you can give them the freedom that they want while still teaching them about underage drinking and why it should be avoided.
