Celebrating Safely This Holiday Season, From The Novato Blue Ribbon Coalition

We at the Novato Blue Ribbon Coalition for Youth would like to wish you, your family and friends a happy holiday season. Unfortunately, holiday festivities can sometimes lead to alcohol-related incidents and tragedies due to underage and binge drinking. Law enforcement will be actively looking out for people driving under the influence and underage drinking parties. As you celebrate with your loved ones, please consider taking some of the following steps to help keep everyone safe this season.

1) Make time for conversations: Talk to your children about the dangers of underage drinking and about what is going on in their lives. Check out this great website with resources to support parents in these conversations: http://www.samhsa.gov/underage-drinking/parent-resources.

2) Be a good role model: If you drink, model responsible drinking behavior and never drive under the influence.

3) Set clear “no alcohol use before 21” rules and don’t relax your rules just because it’s the holiday season: When parents set clear rules about “no drinking before 21” and talk to their children about the risks of underage drinking, it significantly reduces the chance that their children will drink as a minor. Parents may need to re-emphasize expectations about alcohol use with college students returning home.

4) Ensure alcohol won’t be served at youth parties your child attends: Check in with the parents of your child’s friends, even though this may be unpopular. When your child goes out, remember… you are still on-call. Be available to provide a ride home or attend to an urgent situation if something unexpected happens.

5) Make sure you or another adult actively and visibly supervises gatherings of youth in your home: Unsupervised teens are at risk for alcohol use. Teens report that they most often get alcohol from and drink in homes. Be aware and present during gatherings at your house. If you leave home for a night, lock-up alcohol and clearly state what behaviors are expected of your teen. If possible, have another adult stop by to check in with your child and check in by phone.

6) Monitor alcohol use at celebrations that you host:

• Be clear with guests that youth under 21 are NOT allowed to drink.

• Keep alcohol in a designated area and make sure an adult

monitors and serves the alcohol.

• Keep a clear head so you can monitor youth and make sure they

do not access alcohol.

• Dispose of unfinished drinks down the sink drain.

• Take steps to prevent alcohol from being the main attraction.

• Offer plenty of food, non-alcoholic drinks, and activities.

7) Remember the law and report underage parties: Social Host Laws throughout Marin County prohibit people from allowing underage drinking on their property or at an event they host. Novato Police have issued 2 Social Host Citations recently and are paying close attention to this issue. Confidentially report underage drinking parties to the Novato Police Department by calling (415) 897-4361. It could prevent an incident and save a life!

Visit the following link for more information on the City of Novato’s Social Host Ordinance on the Novato Blue Ribbon Coalition for Youth’s website: http://novatoblueribbon.org/community/social-host-ordinance/.

For more information about how you can get involved with coalition’s work visit http://novatoblueribbon.org.