by AngelaCharles

Created on: April 27, 2010   Last Updated: April 28, 2010

The Dangers of Letting Your Teenager Drink

In the last decade to many parents have become allies for underage drinking, letting their minor children drink.   These parents aren’t bad parents, but unfortunately they are making some very bad decisions.

Parents who let their kids drink, do so for a few reasons.  First, they believe if their child drinks with them, they will be safe.  You can not always be there to protect your child.  By allowing them to drink, you are sending the message that you support their choice to drink, whether you are there or not.  Teaching them to drink responsibly is teaching them NOT to drink.  Secondly, they believe that it builds a bond between them and their child.  It is your job to be their parent and role model, not their friend.  Thirdly, alcohol is such a common component in some homes, that they forget the dangers that are often associated with alcohol.

Parents need to realize that letting their kids drink sends a destructive message that will take a lifetime to overcome.  “Young people who start drinking before the age of 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol-related problems later in life,”[1] says Kenneth Moritsugu, M.D., M.P.H , the 2007 Surgeon General.  Letting your kids drink teaches them it is okay to break the law.   The drinking age was set at 21 to protect our youth.  Children under the age of 21 are still developing physically and mentally.  Allowing them to drink decreases their brain activity.  In addition, teenagers lack the emotional ability to make responsible choices for themselves, allowing them to drink only decreases that ability.

Another negative attribute of letting your teenager drink is it teaches them that you need alcohol to have fun.  The use of alcohol as a recreational drug has created an epidemic of alcoholics.  According to a report posted by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, over 17 million American’s have drinking problems or are alcoholics.[2]  They range from closet alcoholics, social alcoholics, and binge drinkers, to alcoholics that are unable to function in society.

Too many young lives are ended or destroyed by underage drinking.  While not everything happens for a reason, everything definitely has a cause and effect.  A recent posting by the Federal Trade Commission reports that over 2000 teens die each year from alcohol related accidents.[3]  Parents letting their kids drink, teen alcoholism, kids drinking and driving, these are just a few of the causes, the effect is thousands of lives lost and ruined!   As parents we need to do everything in our power to insure that our children make responsible choices with alcohol, and teaching them to say NO to alcohol use is instrumental in building that foundation.

[1] http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2007pres/20070306.html

[2] http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alcoholism.html

[3] http://www.dontserveteens.gov/questions.html

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