Students Against Drunk Driving is a peer-advocacy group for high school and college students that supports responsible alcohol use for those over the age of 21, and complete abstinence for those under the legal drinking age.

 

SADD has also compiled enough data on the subject of teen drinking, driving under the influence and senseless death and needless injury. When you’re 18 years old, you don’t think about death, but after a couple of brewskis, death can easily happen to you or someone else. Don’t let it happen to you.

 

Check out the sad facts from SADD:

There are plenty of numbers to support what we all recognize using simple, common sense. Young drivers are inexperienced drivers. They’re also inexperienced drinkers. A beer may not affect an older drinker, but for the first-time 15 year-old drinker, a single beer impairs motor skills and, more importantly, judgment.

 

Substance abuse education begins in the earliest grades these days. Students in first grade are taught about the dangers of alcohol, drug and tobacco in age-appropriate ways. And the subject of substance abuse remains a part of the curriculum throughout school, actually intensifying during the high school years.

 

And this education and awareness campaign has delivered quantifiable results. Again, from SADD:

Good numbers, all. Numbers that show a couple of important trends. Kids continue to drink. It’s seen as one of many rites of passage. Peer pressure is a constant motivator to engage in dangerous practices like binge drinking, which can lead to alcohol poisoning and death, and driving under the influence – another danger for the driver, passengers and those innocent victims who share the road with impaired teens tearing down the back roads on prom night.

 

Much of the burden of substance abuse education has fallen on schools. These institutions are in an excellent position to keep the issue alive and in front of students – our sons and daughters.

 

So, support substance abuse education and awareness in your community school system. Ask for a copy of the substance abuse curriculum – the actual course of study, including what gets taught when and what the behavioral objectives of each substance abuse class are expected. In other words, how will my child be different before taking a substance abuse class than after taking the class. It’s all about shaping attitudes and instilling a strong sense of personal responsibility.

 

The program, at least at the high school level, should also introduce cause and effect thinking – weighing consequences to actions before the youngster takes part in dangerous activities.

 

Parents are the model for teen behavior. If you’re telling your teen to stay away from tobacco as you’re puffing away, the message doesn’t have much impact on the child. The fact is, your children model their behaviors after you and your spouse.

 

If parents drink, or abuse alcohol, the children in the home will learn this behavior, even if they don’t put it into practice right away. If parents drink and drive, the kids will follow right along.

 

If drug abuse occurs in the house, the children will learn how to roll a dube before they’re 12 years old, after seeing mom and dad do it a few thousand times.

 

So, the most effective thing parents can do is to serve as role models. Be what you want your children to be.

 

Next, some parents actually condone teen drinking under certain conditions. In some affluent communities, parents know their children are attending parties where alcohol will be served. However, the adult hosts take all car keys from the young party-goers who then have a sleep-over after a beer blast.

 

This, obviously sends the wrong message to kids – that drinking is accepted and acceptable. Not true.

 

Parents should not condone teen drinking and should recognize the real dangers the problems present – life-threatening, unnecessarily tragic consequences. This means (1) parents never hold one of these drinking parties and (2) parents contact the adult host to determine whether alcohol will be served. If yes, your kid stays home. That sends the right signal. The right message.

 

Parents should discuss substance abuse regularly, even if the kids roll their eyes and whine, “Not again!” You may not think they’re listening to you – getting the message that drinking, DUI, binge drinking, drug use or tobacco use just aren’t acceptable practices in the home.

 

Schools can do a great deal more to improve a bad situation by keeping substance abuse education on-going, from elementary grades through high school graduation. On university campuses, substance abuse counseling should be made available without any repercussions to the student. If a student is courageous enough to admit to the need for help, s/he should not be penalized. These souls seeking help should be praised and encouraged.

 

Eventually, with parents and teachers working in tandem to raise awareness of the health dangers of abusing alcohol, drugs and tobacco, the message becomes part of the individual’s personality. They do listen.

 

Encourage your community schools to expand this area of the curriculum and make it core curriculum for high school students. Also encourage your schools to provide training for parents.

 

Many parents don’t know how to react to substance abuse. Some adopt the old “I’d rather have him smoking pot in his room where I can keep an eye on him rather than driving around.” What???

 

Wrong message, mom or dad.