Teens and Alcohol – How to Protect Your Child
Alcohol abuse is a frightening trend that is taking over lives of teenagers everywhere. For parents, the thought of teens and alcohol together is enough to keep them up at night with worry. We see a lot of news stories and hear a lot of talk the effect that alcohol is having on the teens of our country, and so it is not surprising that parents everywhere are wondering how they can protect their children from the harm that alcohol can cause. So, if you are the parent of one or more teenagers, what can you do to minimize the risk that alcohol can cause in their lives?
The Dangers of Alcohol
There are many harmful situations that alcohol can cause in teenager’s lives. These are both medical and psychological problems. Firstly, there is the obvious medical problems such as kidney damage that can result from overindulging in alcoholic beverages. Kidney damage can be seriously harmful to a person’s quality of living, and can cause a lot of pain and inconvenience. In extreme cases, prolonged abuse of alcohol can cause death, so keeping your teenager on the straight and narrow now, before things get to this point, is the best plan of action. Abusing alcohol can also cause high blood pressure, heart problems, nerve damage and brain cell damage. There are also other, non-medical dangers that come from alcohol abuse. These are normally the result of a person being extremely intoxicated. Such disasters as drink-driving resulting in fatalities, performing risky behavior such as jumping from a roof or playing with fire can all be caused by alcohol abuse. Even more subtle complications such as casual sex, fighting with friends and breaking property can be harmful to a teenager’s life.
What Can a Parent Do?
The first thing you need to do if you have a teenager that you are worried about is to talk to them. They might not be open to this at first, if they are like many teenagers, but it is important that you let them know that the lines of communication are open. If they do not seem comfortable talking to you, you might enlist the help of another adult, such as a favorite aunt or uncle, who they will feel more ease talking to. Teenagers need to know that there are real dangers involved with alcohol abuse, and that it is not all fun and games. You might not be able to stop them from experimenting, and if they do you might have to accept this, however try to impress on them the difference between experimentation and abuse.
What to Do if Things Get Out of Hand
If you think that your teen has a serious problem with alcohol and you believe you are unable to handle the problem on your own, then you should seek help as soon as possible. You can start by taking your teen to see a counselor or psychologist. This is an important step – there will always be a reason why a teenager begins to abuse alcohol, and you need to find out what this reason is if you want your teenager to get better. You might have sessions with your teenager or you might find that they prefer to go alone, but you need to make sure they are talking about their problem with the professional. Trust that the professional is trained to deal with these sorts of situations, and go with their guidance.
Rehabilitation
If things have gone very far with your teenagers alcohol abuse, then they might need to visit a treatment or rehabilitation centre. This is not as scary as it sounds, and this sort of environment can be very positive and nurturing for a teenager with an addiction problem. Let your teenager know that you are trying to do the best thing for them and that you are not abandoning them. They might not appreciate it immediately, but when they are clean and sober and have a good life ahead of them, it is likely that your son or daughter will thank you for caring enough to see that they got the help that they needed.
Teens and alcohol together can spell trouble. If you have a teenager, then will likely know that they can be very contrary and strong willed. So, if you suspect that they are abusing alcohol then you will need to be proactive and do something about it. If talking to your teenager does not work then you can enlist the help of a professional, but whatever you do, make sure that they get the help they need before it is too late.