Tis the Season: Talk With Your Teens

It’s the holiday season when family and friends gather to celebrate together. It’s also a time when many teens find the opportunity and access to experiment and use alcohol and other drugs. Some 65 percent of teens obtain the alcohol they drink from their parents, friends’ parents, siblings, or older friends, with or without permission.

On an average December day, more than 11,000 young people, aged 12 to 17, will use alcohol for the first time, according to Frances M. Harding, director for the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

The good news is that parents are still the strongest influencers in their children’s lives. Among 10-18 year olds, 65 percent cite their parents as the leading influence for them not to drink.

Help make this holiday season safe for teens by following these tips compiled by the Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County:

• Make time to talk with your children. The holidays are a time to reconnect as a family. Make sure they understand the risks of underage drinking and drug use and drinking and driving. Remind them to never ride in a car with a driver who has been drinking alcohol or using marijuana as both negatively affect perception and reflexes.

• Make it clear to your child(ren) that you do NOT approve of their drinking alcohol or using drugs. For students returning home from college, you likely will need to remind them of your expectations. Also, remind your adult children 21 and over, not to drink and drive.

• Ensure that alcohol or other substances will not be available at parties your teen attends. Check in with other parents to verify there will be parental supervision, and that events will be alcohol-free.

• Report suspected underage drinking parties: Call the Fairfax County Police Department non-emergency number (calls can be anonymous): 703-691-2131.

• Be vigilant in your own home about NOT providing access to alcohol or drugs. Be sure to keep all alcohol products secure. If you host a party in your own home for adults, keep an eye on the alcohol and teens at the party and provide a selection of alcohol-free beverages.

• Know that an adult who provides alcohol to a minor is breaking the law and risking that teen’s life.

• Secure other cabinets and make sure all your medications and prescriptions are secure. Be aware of the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter drugs, including cough syrup, and how they can be misused. See UPC’s prescription drug abuse fact card on our website at www.unifiedpreventioncoalition.org. 


Please help protect your child’s bright future by providing a safe, alcohol- and drug-free season of celebrations for your son or daughter. Visit www.unifiedpreventioncoalition.org for more information.

You might also want to join SAMHSA’s Frances Harding in a live, online Twitter chat on underage drinking prevention on Monday, Dec. 15 from 1 to 2 p.m. The Twitter conversation will address prevention of underage drinking by college students as well as adolescents. Sign in to Twitter during the hour, follow hashtag #NotBefore21, and use #NotBefore21 in your tweets.

The Unified Prevention Coalition of Fairfax County is a nonprofit organization with more than 60 community partners working together to keep youth and young adults safe and drug-free. Visit www.unifiedpreventioncoalition.org and www.facebook.com/unifiedpreventioncoalition. Follow the group on Twitter at www.twitter.com/keepyouthsafe.