It’s difficult to not drink in Australia, and if anything, it’s even harder for teens. Adolescence is a time of desperately wanting to fit in and be accepted, and many teens see drinking as one of the easiest ways to achieve this.

On the other hand, parents (and other adults responsible for teens) are generally well aware that drinking is a terrible idea for teens, but also don’t relish the idea of being the ‘bad guy’ who has to set rules around drinking.

There are plenty of articles that outline how alcohol harms teens, and Andrew Fuller’s recent article uses this as a jumping-off point. From here, he unpacks the various psychological drivers causing teens to want to drink. He then outlines the specifics of talking to a teen about not using alcohol and setting clear boundaries on the issue. Always one to go the extra mile, he also includes a handy list of explanations teens can use for why they aren’t drinking, especially useful for teens who aren’t comfortable simply saying they don’t drink to their friends.

Above all, Andrew doesn’t pretend that a firm stance will be easy to maintain. Instead, he goes into some detail explaining all the different kinds of resistance teens are likely to show, before giving advice on how to minimise unpleasantness where possible, but above all keep getting the message across that you mean what you say and that your stance won’t change. A valuable read for anyone who needs to talk to teens about drinking.

Read the full article by Andrew Fuller at The Parent’s Website

Feature image Source: Pixabay