Good News Tucson - A Family Values Publication

Keep Hope Alive by Roy Tullgren III

Summer Is The Season For Kids To Try Alcohol

Last month, I wrote about underage drinking and Governor Napalitano’s statewide campaign to Draw Your Line on underage drinking. This topic is important enough to follow up with the article below that has been submitted by the Pima County Community Prevention Coalition. I’d rather not see these children in future years as clients of Gospel Rescue Mission!

While you may be protecting your kids from sunburn this summer, are you also protecting them from a hangover?

Kids will sample alcohol for the first time in July more than any other month, according to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The same study also reports that nationally10 percent of children age 12, and 50 percent of children age 15, already have consumed alcohol. In Arizona, by the time teenagers graduate from high school, 75 percent will have had their first drink. More than one-quarter of those high school students also admit to “binge drinking.”

With a wealth of new evidence about how alcohol affects teen brains differently than those of adults, underage drinking can no longer be viewed as a “rite of passage.” Underage drinking is more dangerous than adult alcohol consumption because the brain continues to develop through the early twenties. Alcohol consumption before that age has been shown to damage areas of the brain responsible for good judgment, planning, decision making and impulse control.

Keeping kids motivated and challenged during the summer—through sports, hobbies, music or travel—is one of the best things adults can do to keep them away from alcohol. We also can help kids develop healthy attitudes about alcohol by:

not using alcohol yourself and if you do then don’t over-consume.
not asking them to serve us or bartend at summer BBQs.
not lying about your current or past use of alcohol. If you do drink alcohol, tell them how you monitor yourself to drink responsibly and what to do if someone else hasn’t.
being aware of the facts about how alcohol affects children differently than adults (visit www.DrawYourLine.com).
not hosting drinking parties or buying alcohol for kids.

Start talking to the children in your life now about the importance of avoiding alcohol and drugs. Older siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, coaches and camp counselors often are powerful and memorable influences…so speak up against alcohol use.

Kids who begin drinking before age 15 are 40 percent more likely to become adult alcoholics compared who those who wait until their 21st birthday. So, learn the facts, learn the warning signs and teach kids to wait to drink or NOT drink at all. They’ll be healthier for it.

Roy E. Tullgren III serves as Director for Gospel Rescue Mission. Find out how you can get involved and make a difference by calling (520) 740-1501.