Winter Formals and How To Help Teens Avoid Alcohol Use
Posted Jun 25 2009 1:59pm
There is much discussion amongst parents about school dances and transportation — should they hire a limo, host a mini-van, share driving amongst the parents, let the teens drive? Underlying these discussions are admonishments not to drink, not to drive with someone who has been drinking and to carry phone numbers and cash to call a cab, “safe rides,” or mom or dad.
How to handle this is a tough call, to be sure, and points to the need for parents to be putting into place other safeguards well in advance of these kinds of events, such as:
- monitoring (if not getting rid of ) all parental supplies of alcohol in the home [so teens can't sneak it from their parents]
- modeling “don’t drink and drive” behaviors as a parent in the company of teens — not even a glass of wine with dinner [sends the message there is a safe level of alcohol consumption for driving]
- coordinating with other parents the proactive step of telling the limo driver in front of the teens that they expect the driver to call them should there be any alcohol or drug use and then providing their (the parents’) phone numbers [this is much easier if all of the parents are on board]
- not allowing sleep-over’s [it's more difficult for teens to hide their drinking from you if they still have to come home]
- setting a curfew and then setting an alarm to be up and waiting [gives your teen an excuse, "My dad/mom's always up when I get home so I can't drink - she'd kill me."]
Lots to think about… please share your suggestions.
There is much discussion amongst parents about school dances and
transportation — should they hire a limo, host a mini-van, share driving amongst the parents, let the teens drive? Underlying these discussions are admonishments not to drink, not to drive with someone who has been drinking and to carry phone numbers and cash to call a cab, “safe rides,” or mom or dad.
How to handle this is a tough call, to be sure, and points to the need for parents to be putting into place other safeguards well in advance of these kinds of events, such as:
- monitoring (if not getting rid of ) all parental supplies of alcohol in the home [so teens can't sneak it from their parents]
- modeling “don’t drink and drive” behaviors as a parent in the company of teens — not even a glass of wine with dinner [sends the message there is a safe level of alcohol consumption for driving]
- coordinating with other parents the proactive step of telling the limo driver in front of the teens that they expect the driver to call them should there be any alcohol or drug use and then providing their (the parents’) phone numbers [this is much easier if all of the parents are on board]
- not allowing sleep-over’s [it's more difficult for teens to hide their drinking from you if they still have to come home]
- setting a curfew and then setting an alarm to be up and waiting [gives your teen an excuse, "My dad/mom's always up when I get home so I can't drink - she'd kill me."]
Lots to think about… please share your suggestions.
