Empowered Parents Can Lead to an Overall Reduction in Teenage Drinking
/Are you a parent of a teen or a pre-teen who is worried about what goes on outside of the home when you are not around? Worried that you have not done enough as a parent to influence their decisions in a positive way when they are faced head-on with adult decisions?
As a licensed mental health counselor, it is important for me to stay up-to-date on the most recent studies and evidence-based practices. A recent article in the Journal of School Health stood out to me and I felt its findings were too important not to share.
As recent studies suggest, parental empowerment helps you to set appropriate boundaries, rules, and consequences for your teenager. But how can we start to feel empowered, especially when it comes to our children and substance use?
What Recent Substance Abuse Studies Show
There have been many studies over the decades that focus on adolescent use of alcohol and substance use, so why did this one stand out to me?
The crux of the article found that parental monitoring and involvement over alcohol lead to a reduction in health risks and risky behaviors. What I found interesting about the study is that it found that teenagers who drank without their parent’s knowledge led to an increase in drinking and unhealthy behaviors versus teenagers and youth that drank with their parent’s knowledge.
When parental knowledge increases,
the likelihood of adolescent drinking decreases.
Of course, all alcohol and substance use in young adults has risk. But this study highlights the crucial role that engaged parents who stay closely involved in their children’s lives and uphold clear rules regarding substance use are more effective in protecting and promoting their children’s positive health outcomes.
As a parent interested in parenting peak performers, I understand that you can be quite involved —and sometimes wonder how much involvement is healthy— when it comes to reducing teenage drinking your involvement is healthy and important (more on that later).
Alcohol Use by Teenagers
Teenagers and alcohol is an age-old saga. An almost 45-year longitudinal study published in 2019 (Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2019) shows that 24.5% of adolescents self-reported drinking by 8th grade, and about 40% reported being drunk at least once by 12th grade.
However, evidence shows that teenage drinking is slowly declining, although the numbers are still quite high. Most parents know that alcohol use, especially binge drinking, has negative effects on adolescent development.
What Parents Can Do About Adolescent Drinking
But what can we do to help delay or prevent the onset of drinking for as long as possible? Studies suggest to talk early and talk often.
As mentioned above, by 8th grade almost ¼ of children have already had their first taste of alcohol. Children, especially pre-teens, are at a conflicting stage of life where they want to comply and respect their parents and their rules, but they also want to fit in with their peers and are experiencing peer influence.
Making the time to talk to your children
can positively reduce negative health risks.
This is where having a healthy involvement with your child comes in. Many parents begin to notice behavioral issues during the tween years, especially as kids' cognitive development (and an element of peer-pressure) leads them toward risk-taking. Thankfully, parental attention can help to head off many of these issues. Kids with involved parents have lower rates of substance use and delinquency compared to children whose parents are uninvolved. So, what does healthy involvement look like?
We've all heard the term ’helicopter parents’ who, though mean well, have taken parental involvement a bit too far. Empowering both parents and teens comes from balance. Think of it like this: come to the game, cheer from the sidelines, but stay off the field. Let your child play and learn.
Tips for parental healthy involvement:
Be and stay engaged: monitor their out-of-school activities; negotiate schedules and talk about their worries and life pressures.
Set the example: Role model the value of learning, hard work, and self-discipline. It’s okay to let them see you struggle to learn something new.
Express your goals: Discuss your expectations with your child; these can and should be kept high, but realistic - especially for student-athletes.
Be enthusiastic and positive: What are the things that motivate and inspire your child? Get curious and ask about it. Maybe even give it a try and be active with them. Allow them to teach you, and you both can feel more empowered.
Encourage them: Have discussions about any topic; let your kid know that nothing is off-base. Although you may be tempted to shut a discussion down, and be seen as an expert all the time, be open to talking. If you don’t know something, say so and then work to find out about it together.
Parents remember, while communication should be open and respectful, we also need to give ourselves more grace. The teenage years are a hard time for many of us —trying to balance the right amount of independence coupled with letting them start to explore more freedoms is challenging and we may not always get it right.
Preventing Alcohol Abuse in Student-Athletes
If your adolescent is focused on sports and sports performance, it is especially important to talk about alcohol and its effects on their body and sports performance. By making the negative affects relatable to an activity and passion of theirs it may hit home more.
For student-athletes explain to them alcohol is a diuretic and can lead to dehydration. Alcohol also interferes with the way your body makes energy. When your body is metabolizing, or breaking down alcohol, the liver cannot produce as much glucose, which means lower levels of blood sugar. Active athletes also require higher levels of sugar for energy.
Studies Show to Stay Involved
Recent studies have shown that parental monitoring and involvement are shown to reduce drinking use inadvertently, leading to a reduction in health risks and risky situations. Taking the first steps to help possibly reduce your child’s chance of future substance use is empowering. Stay involved and encourage open discussions with your teens.
If you are looking for more help, whether it is individual counseling sessions for you or your child, I am here to help. For student-athletes, I also offer sport performance consulting if you are looking for ways to empower adolescents in achieving greater satisfaction in their sport, health, and life.
Contact me online or call at (239) 594-0900. You can also subscribe to my newsletter for more tips and advice to help parent peak performers.
Kathy A. Feinstein, MS
Resources:
Fay, H., LoParo, D., Shentu, Y., Vasquez, D., & Welsh, J. W. (2020). Perceived Parental Knowledge and Adolescent Substance Use Outcomes. Journal of School Health, 90(9), 711–717. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12933
