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Underage Drinking, Parents & Parties
Would you let your teenage son drink beer at his best friend’s birthday
party? Would you let your daughter attend a graduation party where wine would
be available to underage kids? What if a parent were chaperoning these
events?
Kids, parties, and alcohol are never a good mix. However, in a poll by the
American Medical Association, 1 in 10 parents said that it was okay for teens
to attend prom or graduation parties with alcohol if a parent were
present.1 It may come as no surprise, then, that 20 percent of 16-
to 18-year-olds reported that they have attended a graduation party with
underage drinking and parents present.2 And 15 percent of these
teens had been to a graduation party where the alcohol was actually supplied by
parents.3
Laws in many States call for parents to be prosecuted if minors drink
alcohol in their homes. But some parents still allow alcohol at their teens’
parties and, in many cases, buy alcohol for the event. This group of parents is
the minority. Most parents do not allow their underage children to drink and
would not buy alcohol for their kids or allow it at a post-prom party or
graduation event.
During the busy prom and graduation season, your teen may be invited to a
party where alcohol will be available to minors. Try taking these steps to keep
your child alcohol free:
- Before the party, talk to the parents hosting the party and get all the details. Where is it? What time does it start and end? Who’s invited? What activities are planned? Will there be adult supervision for teenage guests? What is the ratio of adult supervisors to teenage guests? What can I do to help? You’re not being nosy! Think of it as gathering information so that you can make an informed decision.
- Ask the parents hosting the party if alcohol will be served at the event. If it’s a party with guests over and under age 21 and alcohol will be present, ask about their plans to prevent minors from drinking alcohol. If all of the guests will be under 21, ask about their plans to make sure that no one brings alcohol to the party.
- Talk to your child about what to do if he finds himself at a party where alcohol is available to minors. Let him know that even if other teens are drinking, you expect him not to. Tell him that he should call you right away and you’ll come pick him up—no matter how late it is. You may want to create a “code word” that your child can use if he wants you to come get him. He may be calling you when he’s surrounded by friends, and he may be unable to tell you what’s going on without a code word.
During the busy prom and graduation season, you might have to make
difficult choices about what parties your kids attend. It can be hard to tell
your child “no” when she wants to go to the party that “everyone” is going to.
You may wonder if your rules are too tough.
It’s okay to be tough when it comes to protecting your kids from underage
drinking. Underage drinking is a key factor in the two leading causes of
teenage deaths: car accidents and fatal injuries.4 It also is linked
to two-thirds of all sexual assaults and date rapes of teens, and it increases
the chance of contracting HIV or sexually transmitted diseases.5 So,
go ahead, be tough on underage drinking, and be on the lookout for risky
situations during end-of-the-school-year parties.
WebMD Public Information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Getting your kids to eat right in the summer can be no picnic. But a little pre-planning can keep them away from the junk food, at least some of the time.
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