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When adolescents go back to college after a break, parents should remind them of the dangers of alcohol abuse. This means that parents need to educate themselves on these dangers so communication can come from the heart. And caring words from a parent will do much more good than threats from the school they attend.

Parents commonly feel a lack of control over their teens’ behavior when they leave home for college. That is because there is no control. They can’t effectively be grounded anymore. So how do parents minimize the chances their teens will abuse alcohol and risk injury?

By the time they leave home for college, teens have learned values and responsibility. There is still room to grow, of course, but trying to force rules for life on them at this point will probably fall on deaf ears. Parents can, however, send their growing youths away with information and possibly some wisdom from personal experience.

Parents can share stories from their young adult days where alcohol caused injury to a “friend”. Depending on the relationship, personal alcohol abuse stories, where physical injury occurred, could benefit. The goal is to convey that alcohol is a legal substance that can be fine in small amounts, and can bring serious physical consequences when abused.

It is always a good idea for parents to be educated on trends in alcohol abuse, especially with adolescents and college aged children. The Addiction Technology Transfer Center has published a study that deals with college drinking and injury. A portion is below, followed by the link.

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“In the United States, most – as in 70 percent – of college students have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, and 40 percent of students have engaged in heavy drinking in the past two weeks,” said Marlon P. Mundt, assistant scientist in the department of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and corresponding author for the study.

“More than 1,700 U.S. college students aged 18-24 died from alcohol-related injuries in 2001,” he added. “Approximately 2.8 million U.S. college students drove under the influence of alcohol in the past 12 months, and 600,000 U.S. college students were hit or assaulted by a student who was under the influence of alcohol.”

— http://www.attcnetwork.org/explore/priorityareas/science/tools/asmeDetails.asp?ID=620 –

Tarzana Treatment Centers in Los Angeles provides youth alcohol and drug treatment as part of our commitment to integrated behavioral healthcare. If you or a loved one needs help with adolescent alcohol abuse, please call us now at 888-777-8565 or contact us here.

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