Parents play a crucial role in discouraging their children from beginning to use alcohol. The resources below will help parents discuss this important issue with their children and brainstorm ways for them to refuse offers of alcohol from their peers.
Copies of this publication are available free of charge from the SAMHSA’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information. Call 1-877-SAMHSA-7 or write to P.O. Box 2345 Rockville, MD Rockville, MD 20847-2345.
A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism This comprehensive report summarizes the results and recommendations of the 3-year NIAAA Task Force on College Drinking. The Task Force was comprised of college and university presidents, researchers specializing in college alcohol use, and selected students. The report contains information on the consequences of excessive and underage college drinking, recommendations for possible interventions, and suggested areas for future research.
A Family Guide to Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy & Drug Free Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration Some parents believe that it’s safer for their teens to drink at home than to drink anywhere else. Other adults, including some parents, mistakenly think that underage drinking is part of growing up. They may view it as a rite of passage—one that often follows a teen’s high school graduation instead of his 21st birthday. But new social host liability laws in States across the country are changing parents’ minds as the responsibility for underage drinking moves from teens who consume alcohol to parents who provide it to teens.The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration have designed this guide to assist parents in talking with thier teens about these issues.
Community How To Guides On Underage Drinking National Highway Traffic Safety Administration These Community How To Guides address fundamental components of planning and implementing a comprehensive underage drinking prevention program. The guides are designed to be brief, easy to read, and easy to use. Each guide contains a resource section to assist readers in obtaining additional and detailed information about the topics covered in that guide. The appendices include useful tools for each topic area that provide coalitions and organizations with a jump-start in their planning and implementation activities.
Life’s First Great Crossroad: Tweens Make Choices That Affect Their Lives Forever Center for Disease Control and Prevention We are all too familiar with today’s portrayal of teenagers—rebellious, difficult, and driven by peer pressure. However, what we don’t see is that kids often start making good or bad choices before their teen years. Often referred to as the tween years, children between 9–13 years of age (grades 4–8) are straddling the fence between childhood and choice. On the one hand, they are beginning to branch out in their lives, looking to new horizons and taking on new responsibilities. Yet, as children, they still look to their parents for guidance about what is right and what is wrong; they still longingly seek approval and support from the adults who surround them. Tweens are facing life’s first great crossroad: the decisions they make today will last a lifetime. If we reach them now, we can help them grow into healthier adults.
Make A Difference: Talk to Your Child About Alcohol National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism This guide is geared to parents and guardians of young people ages 10 to 14. Keep in mind that the suggestions offered in the guide are just that—suggestions. Trust your instincts. Choose ideas you are comfortable with, and use your own style in carrying out the approaches you find useful. Your child looks to you for guidance and support in making life decisions—including the decision not to use alcohol.
PREVENTION Alert: Prevention Works! (Vol. 3, No. 4, November 19, 1999) Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration The influential adults in a youth’s life are an important target for prevention efforts. In 1996, research conducted by Wagenaar and colleagues at the University of Minnesota found that the community and social environments play important roles in facilitating underage drinking. Therefore, program managers and school administrators must develop strategies that extend beyond the youth population itself.
Sober Truth On Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking Act U.S. Congress This Act states that the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall, with input and collaboration from other appropriate Federal agencies, States; Indian tribes; territories; and public health, consumer, and alcohol beverage industry groups, annually issue a `report card' to accurately rate the performance of each State in enacting, enforcing, and creating laws, regulations, and programs to prevent or reduce underage drinking. The report card shall include ratings on outcome measures for categories related to the prevalence of underage drinking in each State.
The FACTS About Youth & Alcohol National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism This one-page fact sheet outlines information on the prevalence and consequences of teen alcohol use.
TheAntiDrug.com Office of National Drug Control Policy TheAntiDrug.com was created by the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign to equip parents and other adult caregivers with the tools they need to raise drug-free kids. Working with the Nation's leading experts in the fields of parenting and substance abuse prevention, TheAntiDrug.com serves as a drug prevention information center and a supportive community where parents can interact and learn from each other. The site provides parents and other adult caregivers with access to helpful articles and advice from experts in the fields of parenting and substance abuse prevention; science-based drug prevention information, news, and studies; support from other parents striving to keep their children drug-free; and teen perspectives.
Tips For Teens: The Truth About Alcohol Center for Substance Abuse Prevention This brochure provides facts and dispels myths about alcohol use. Information is provided on long-term and short-term effects, physical and psychological risks, impact on sexual performance, and legal implications.
Too Smart To Start Implementation Guide Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration The materials contained in this guide are designed to help you plan, develop, promote, and implement a local initiative to educate 9- to 13-year-olds and their parents about the harms of underage alcohol use and to support parents and caregivers as they participate in their children’s activities.
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