Causes Of Teenage Drinking
Causes of teenage drinking are numerous, some are what you could never think of. Read this and save your teenager from alcohol abuse and related disasters: drunk driving, risky behavior and health issues. Occasional drinking may evolve into alcoholism, not a habit anymore but a destructive medical condition much more difficult to treat.
Bad Parents’ Example
Children are like sponges: they absorb all they see and hear around and then quickly reproduce. I saw my friend’s little kids copying they way their parents drink alcohol. They were filling their toy cups with water, raising them and saying cheers, and then pretend to get “drunk”. There is just one little step to filling play cups with real alcohol for they already know for sure that drinking is normal because mommy and daddy do that, and they will do their best to copy their parents and be as good as they are. Even if you try to explain that it’s bad, you’ll get knocked down by a very straightforward, just and natural question - “Then why are you doing this?”. The same with smoking by the way. As to teens, they do their best to get out of parents control. And if a drunk teen fends off “Then why are YOU drinking?”, get angry not at him or her but at yourself for he is she is right. Don’t expect your teens to be good if your can’t be a good role model. Being a good role model is the first and most important step in teenage drinking prevention for a parent.
Problem Friends
It’s as clear as day. In adolescent life, the influence from friends is particularly heavy. Look at you teenager’s friends and their families and see what kind of impact to expect. Problem or drinking friends or those coming from problem families are more likely to include your teenager to start drinking.
Drinking is Considered Cool
This extends from the above - the impact of friends and importance of their opinion.
Escapism from Problems of Stress
Some teenagers find a shelter from problems in the temporary state of bliss that comes after having a drink. Possible problems are: love life, studies, being bullied, being tied of studies, family problems, being unhappy with one’s appearance, having communication difficulties,
Pressure from Parents
Believe or not, but sometimes parents drive their own kids to the bottom on the bottle by pressing to hard. Having high grades, entering a good college and doing sports is definitely important and teenagers need to be stimulated and even being forced. However, being too hard, especially when there is not need for that, may give the opposite effect.
Parties and Night Clubs
Don’t be deluded about the law prohibiting selling alcohol to teenagers. It’s not a secret that getting alcohol for an underage at is not a problem. Many teenagers say the whole question is settled by giving a $10 to a guy that stamps arms at the a night club entrance - and you can buy yourself as many drinks as you wish. Or asking someone else to buy alcohol. Teens become astonishingly creative when it’s about getting some forbidden fruit. How many teenagers drink alcohol? The answer is probably getting close to 70%, at least occasionally or is very small amounts.
Health Researches
Of late there have been a lot of “researches” acclaiming the benefits of small doses of alcohol, specifically red wine (I figure, as part of a strong alcohol-advertising campaign). Today’s teenagers read a lot, at least what’s they find on the Internet. There is a big change that your teenage comes across one of such researches. Little by little, such alcohol-supporting headlines will form a positive image of alcohol and drinking in your child’s brain. Kind of “Wow, even those big brains from the lab say that wine is good”. So be ready to rebut those big brains and demolish this statement. It’s not a secret, all the “benefits” of red wine are found in grapes and there is not need to take alcohol to take advantage of any of them, explain that. Your teenage has read that moderate consumption of alcohol helps prevent atherosclerosis and stroke? Explain that it’s not a wise idea, the same as burning the house in order to drive away mice. Teach him or her to eat a healthy diet and do sports rather than use such barbaric methods to clean blood vessels with alcohol.
Mental Disorders
Mental disorders, like depression or anxiety, may cause a teenager to start drinking. Simply because the teenager does not know what exactly he or she suffers from, how to treat it and that this condition can be treated at all. If you see any sign of a depression or anxiety in you teenager, seek professional help before he or she finds help in the bottle.
Pain of Loss, Grief
Alcohol temporarily numbs feelings. Not just adults but also teenagers can avail themselves of this. And just like adults they suffer from break-ups or loss of a loved person. A teenager who had to go through such a disaster need a very close attention and care.
