TEACH KIDS EARLY ABOUT THE DANGERS

The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, a federal agency responsible for
developing abuse-prevention programs, reminds parents and other caregivers
to keep the message consistent with children and youth: Alcohol is a drug
that affects the body and the brain. It can be deadly when consumed in
large amounts; overindulgence can lead to coma and death.

CSAP notes, too, that as recently as 1998, statistics show that nearly half
(36 percent) of traffic deaths among 15- to 20-year-olds are alcohol-related.

Young people also should understand that simply not drinking themselves may
not be enough to keep them safe. Close association with other kids who do
drink can place young nondrinkers in harm's way.

Dr. Ruth Sanchez-Way, a social worker who has been employed with the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, suggests parents teach children
about alcohol in much the same way they teach about anything else.

"You need to start talking to children as early as age 4 or 6. You need to
tell them about prevention in general," Sanchez-Way suggested in a live
forum on WebMD. "About how important it is to brush their teeth, to wear
their helmets when they ride their bikes. And that there are certain
activities best done as adults, things like drinking alcohol."

She cited several factors that influence a child's decision to drink or not
drink, uppermost among them a strong anti-drug and alcohol attitude among
close friends. A strong and consistent message from parents also is
important, as are strong family relationships, standards and values.

Parents need to give young children rules, Sanchez-Way said, and if the
rules are violated, there must be appropriate consequences.

"Often we threaten our children... but we don't follow through," she said.
This failure teaches youngsters that their actions have little or no
consequences.

With regard to home drug- and alcohol-testing kits, Sanchez-Way verified
that the kits do work; however, she wondered if parental use may send the
message that there is no trust between parent and child. Nevertheless, she
conceded that parents know their children and how they are likely to react
to such intervention.

Finally, she referred to the CSAP registry of prevention programs, which
lists those proven effective in many settings over long periods of time and
which can be accessed at the following Web site: modelprograms.samhsa.gov.

Source for much of this material is New Parenting, a service of WebMD Live.