I received a booklet in the mail today addressed to “the parents of” my daughter. It came from the University of Colorado where she will be a freshman in fall, and was titled, “A Parent Handbook for Talking with College Students about Alcohol.” Written by Rob Turrisi of the Prevention Research Center of The Pennsylvania State University, it is full of realistic, useful information. The only problem: I think it comes a bit late.
The primary point of Toward College Success: Is Your Teenager Ready, Willing, and Able?, is that parents needs to prepare their teenagers while they are in high school, or even earlier, for all the things they will be responsible for once they leave home. Consuming alcohol definitely falls in that category, and as Turrisi points out, “over 90 percent of students try alcohol outside the home before graduating from high school.” The tips that Turrisi gives for discussing alcohol and its dangers need to be used by parents long before the two months prior to their teenager’s departure for college. If a pattern of discussion has been established, along with rules and consequences, during the middle and high school years, then students are more likely to resist drinking if they choose to do so, or avoid drunkenness and stay safer if they choose to imbibe.
Turrisi’s booklet gives tips on how to talk about alcohol and how to develop assertiveness, states physical and psychological effects, discusses why students do or do not drink, warns about binge drinking, and even gives parents ideas on how to answer your teenager when he or she asks: “Did you drink when you were a student?’ You can find the report at: http://studentlife.uiowa.edu/assets/605-01-ParentAlcoholHandbook.pdf
This is a good arena to brainstorm how and when to discuss alcohol with your teenager. Your ideas are welcome.
Thanks foe the link. I agree that the timing is way too late if a parent is just starting this conversation before their child leaves for college. We've talked with our kids about substance use and abuse since they were in early grade school. One of our teens recently told me this gave him another perspective besides his peers' view back in junior high when some were experimenting with substance abuse. In his case he felt like this helped him navigate his choices.
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes I've wondered if we brought up the topic earlier than needed. What's your take? What time is he right time to start these discussions?