How Do You Talk To A Teen About Alcohol?
Parents are often reluctant to talk to their children about hard decisions in life. Two-way dialog on substance abuse seems to be challenging for many parents. Refusal to talk about alcohol usage can be harmful to the child physically, mentally and socially. Parents must guide children during the teen years when young people gain more freedom, have access to money and are discovering their own interests. Talk to your teen about alcohol. Spend time together during family activities. Make your opinions clear whenever the issue of drinking comes up. Use recent events or current newspaper articles on the subject as a means to raise the issue. Give your reaction to the events and ask your teen for a reaction. Listen. Give the best answer possible to all of the teen’s alcohol-related questions without lecturing. Promise to let the teen know when you need to reschedule a conversation and that you will listen to and answer questions later. Resist the urge to say that the teen is too young to u
