TIPS FOR PARENTS

Parents can take the following steps to encourage their children to abstain from alcohol:

Support your teens and give them space to grow.

• Be involved in your teens' lives. Be loving and caring.
  
  
• Encourage your teens' growing independence, but set appropriate limits.
  
  
• Make it easy for your teens to share information about their lives.
  
  
• Know where your teens are, what they're doing, who they're with, and who their friends are.
  
  
• Find ways for your teens to be involved in family life, such as doing chores or caring for a younger brother or sister.
  
  
• Set clear rules, including rules about alcohol use. Enforce the rules you set.

Talk with your teens about alcohol use.

• When you talk with your teens about drinking, listen to them and respect what they say.
  
  
• Make clear your expectation that your teens will not drink.
  
  
• Teach your children about the dangers of underage drinking.
  
  
• Discuss laws about underage drinking, including the age 21 law.

Help your teens make good decisions about alcohol.

• Help your teens know how to resist alcohol.
  
  
• Help them find ways to have fun without alcohol.
  
  
• Do not give alcohol to your teens. Tell them that any alcohol in your home is off limits to them and to their friends.
  
  
• Don't let your teens attend parties where alcohol is served. Make sure alcohol isn't available at teen parties in your own home.
  
  
• Set clear rules about not drinking and enforce them consistently.
  
  
• Help your teens avoid dangerous situations such as riding in a car driven by someone who has been drinking.
  
  
• Help your teens get professional help if you're worried about their involvement with alcohol.

(Source: The Surgeon General's Office, A Guide to Action for Families)

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