In the article, Cardoso highlights his belief that the best interests of children should be the primary consideration of all the policies affecting them. The former president adds that the current approaches have failed at trying to protect children from drug harms and drug use. He calls for several issues to be debated such as how controlling drugs and legal regulations would affect children. Cardoso remains convinced the recommendations of such policies from the Global Commission would have important benefits for young people.

However, Cardoso does urge caution when it comes to business dealings in the future concerning illicit drugs. It has been his experience in dealing with corporations for tobacco and alcohol that their priorities are in maximizing profits and not public health. He emphasizes the need to protect our children stating that we cannot let drugs carry over into the criminal market or to an unregulated market.

Cardoso’s article is a challenge to activists, politicians and researchers and is no doubt controversial. He believes the current policies have caused children harm due to disregard, negligence and carelessness on the part of policy makers. Cardoso added that the policies affecting children, as shown in the Rights of the Child from the UN Convention, should focus on children being at the forefront of the policy discussions on drugs.

Cardoso, along with Professor Gerry Stimson of the International Journal of Drug Policy, believe an open environment should be created to safely discuss these issues in order to best serve the children.

You know prescription and over-the-counter medication abuse is a serious problem, but how much do you really know about the nation’s fastest growing drug problem?

True or False? Prescription medications are among the top three most commonly abused drugs among teenagers.

True. According to the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), alcohol and marijuana are the drugs most often abused by adolescents, followed by prescription medications (particularly opiates like Vicodin and OxyContin). Government studies show that more than six million teens and adults have abused a prescription drug and nearly 2.5 million children have gotten high by abusing cough medicine.

True or False? Most teenagers get their prescription drugs from family or friends.

True. Multiple surveys show that the majority of people who abuse prescription drugs obtain them from family and friends. Some find the medications in the family medicine cabinet or at a friend’s house while others may buy or steal drugs from the people closest to them.

True or False? Medicines can be safely disposed of by flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash.

False. Flushing medications down the toilet or tossing them in the garbage can pollute the water and soil and become a safety hazard. LockTheCabinet.com, a prescription drug abuse awareness campaign, recommends that families put locks on their medicine cabinets or store prescription and over-the-counter medications in a lockbox.

If there are unused and unwanted medications lying around the house, bring them to a designated drop-off location during one of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back events. If you decide to throw medications in the garbage, be sure to follow the guidelines for proper prescription drug disposal.

True of False? Teens learn everything they need to know about the dangers of prescription drugs at school.

False. Adolescents gain only a basic knowledge of the dangers of prescription drug abuse at school. In fact, without parental involvement, teens are more likely to get their facts – which are often inaccurate – from their friends.

True or False? Overdose is only a risk for people who abuse street drugs like heroin or cocaine.

False. Prescription drugs pose a severe overdose risk, particularly when taken in large doses or mixed with other drugs. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that prescription drug overdoses were the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., moving ahead of car accidents for the first time in history.

True of False? Parents should educate their teens about the risks of medicine abuse, but friends end up having more influence.

False. During adolescence, young people are strongly influenced by their peers, but studies show that parents remain the most powerful force in a teen’s life. Studies show that teens who learn about the risks of drugs from their parents are 50 percent less likely to use drugs.

You know to keep OTC and prescription medications out of reach. LockTheCabinet.com also recommends taking the following steps to safeguard your family:

• Educate yourself about OTC and prescription drug abuse.
• Talk openly and often with your teens about the risks of abusing medications.
• Maintain an active presence in your child’s life.
• Promote positive self-esteem by providing unconditional love and support.
• Get to know your teen’s friends and their parents.
• Be a strong role model by using medications responsibly.

The message of National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month is that OTC and prescription medication abuse can have serious consequences. Although many teenagers believe prescription drugs are safer than street drugs, when taken other than as prescribed, the results can be fatal. Be part of the solution by getting educated about the prevalence of medicine abuse and its associated dangers, and sharing that knowledge with your children, family and friends.

Does this seem like putting the cart in front of the horse? Are you worried that by talking about substance abuse you’ll somehow get your teens thinking about getting involved? All the experts in the field suggest otherwise. In fact, in households where parents have an open line of communication and ongoing dialogue with their children, substance abuse is less likely to become a problem or at least can be countered early on.

Why is it important to talk with teens before they go back to school? For one thing, when teens are making big changes, such as moving up to eighth grade from seventh, or getting into high school, there are all kinds of stressors at work. It’s an exciting time, but it’s also filled with challenges.

Teens will be tackling tougher subject matter in their classes, necessitating more in-depth research and a whole lot more homework. That can be taxing. In addition, there are new students and teachers to interact with, and for some, an entirely new environment to deal with. Such changes in environment and social influences can induce stress that may lead some teens to begin experimenting with illegal substances.

In fact, the results of recent studies bear this out. Students with high stress are twice as likely to drink, to get drunk, to smoke and use illegal drugs as low-stress students.

The Importance of Honesty

Okay, knowing that you should start talking with your teens is one thing, but what about the importance of honesty in such conversations? If you don’t really feel comfortable about your knowledge about illegal substances or feel anxious about talking with your teens about the subject, you need to acknowledge that fact to yourself.

Your teens will spot any evasiveness or inconsistencies. They’ve got intuitive radar that allows them to pick up on anything other than absolute honesty.

So, do yourself a favor and become more knowledgeable about drugs and alcohol, what the risks are for teens, signs and symptoms of use and abuse, alternative behaviors, and what to do if you spot any such use in your teens.

When you know more about the subject, you’ll feel better about talking with your teens and you’ll be able to do so in an honest and well-informed manner.

Experts say that parents don’t give themselves enough credit. They underestimate the importance of their role in helping to prevent their teenage children from using drugs and alcohol. Having conversations ahead of time – not just once, but often – can make a very surprising and positive impact.

Strategies to Get the Conversations Going and Keep Them Fruitful

Approach this like you would any other important family or individual project. Keep in mind that there are several different strategies and no one way is the only way. Be flexible and keep your options open.

• Make it a point to talk multiple times. In fact, start now before school gets underway. If you wait until after your teens go to school, you’ll be butting up against schedules and the need to obtain books and supplies, getting in the way of homework and extra-curricular activities. Repeated conversations, that is, on a continued basis, are an effective way to deter negative behavior on the part of your teens.
• Talk about your expectations ahead of time. Your teens need to know where you as parents stand on what’s expected. Make a concerted effort to address potential issues long before they may occur.
• Consider creating a contract, renewable annually. Much like an installment loan or any other long-term contract that comes up for renewal, a family contract is a good idea that you might consider. This is a contract where you put all your expectations in writing. But don’t just make it a dictatorial, one-way street. Enlist the input of your teens in writing the contract. In fact, contract creation is a good way to get the discussion of the dangers of illegal substances off the ground. In the contract, put down agreed-upon rules, written out objectively. Other items in the contract may include family rules and consequences for rule violations, drug and alcohol abstinence (or a pledge to be drug- and alcohol-free), use of technology, and curfew.
• Address academic expectations. When teens know that there are certain expectations for a level of academic performance, they may be more likely to focus on their studies. This doesn’t mean holding teens to unrealistic expectations, but it does mean that having set expectations, for example, teens demonstrating effort to achieve a certain caliber of academic performance, shows the teens that parents will be monitoring their progress during the school year. If the teen’s grades suddenly plummet, parents are likely to observe drug or alcohol usage.
• Include prescription drugs in reinforcement talks about the dangers of drug use. Often times, parents neglect to consider that prescription drugs can be just as dangerous and carry a high addictive potential as illicit drugs and alcohol. While a teen may well be prescribed certain medications by their doctor to address such concerns as attention deficit disorder (ADD), anxiety, or depression, it’s important for parents to remind their teen that such medication must only be taken exactly as prescribed – not more, and not more often. Teens should also be warned that they should never, under any circumstances, take prescription drugs prescribed for their friends.
• Tackle any immediate areas of concern. Times change and things happen, often without much warning. If parents start to see that their teens are showing signs of potential alcohol and drug abuse, they need to discuss the situation immediately with their teens. Things to look out for include significant weight loss, rapid mood swings, difficulty managing anger, withdrawal from family activity and friends, changes in sleeping patterns, and failure at school.
• Investigate coping mechanisms that you can help your teen to use to deal with intense stress and pressures at school.
• Take advantage of resources that are available at little or no cost at school, including teen assessment and counseling services.

Above all, perhaps the most important thing for parents to keep in mind is that teens will respond to open, loving and honest communication that’s ongoing. If your teen feels that he or she can tell you anything and that you’ll always be there to listen and help them through any difficulties or challenges they encounter going back to school and during the school year, he or she will be much less likely to be tempted to resort to use of drugs and alcohol.

As parents, you want your teens to grow in self-confidence and learn healthy ways of coping in a sometimes stressful world. You are, in fact, one of your teens’ best resources in this regard. What you do and say can make a world of difference. So, put a plan into motion and sit down and talk with your kids now – before they go back to school.

Worried that it’s too late to start? Don’t fret that you haven’t figured out what your kids are going to do this summer just yet. But do sit down and gear up a slew of activities designed to keep them busy and out of trouble.

Here are some things to think about as you start planning.

Cut Down on Your Working Hours

Since it’s the time parents are away from home and unable to directly supervise their children’s activities that may allow idle time to be devoted to drug and/or alcohol experimentation, if at all possible, do everything you can to cut down your work schedule. If this isn’t possible, see if you can go in earlier so you can be home with them before your usual time or work with your employer to create a flexible schedule to give you time to engage in some family-type activities with your kids.

Another point about varying your working hours is that it will help keep your kids on their toes. If they’re not sure exactly when you might be home, it tends to give them the sense that you’re likely to be around at any time. This is what you want actually, since it helps contribute to a sense of overall security. You are, after all, the parents, and you are supposed to be there to look out for your children.

Plan Lots of Mini-Vacations

With your children present, sit down as a family – both parents in attendance – and brainstorm activities and events that can serve as lots of mini-vacations. These may include several day-trips to the beach, an outing at an amusement park, water-slide park, overnight camping, a day spent fishing on a lake or fly-fishing in a river, going to a concert that the kids really want to attend (but do so as a family), even arranging for an extended family barbecue.

The idea behind this is twofold. First, it’s something that you do together. Second, thinking of ideas for activities you can do as a family and slotting them into a spot on the calendar gives everyone in the family something to look forward to.

Maybe your kids are a little lukewarm to the whole planning a series of mini-vacations. At least, they may be the first time you sit down to do it. But once everyone gets into it and each person gets to contribute something to the list they really want to do, the enthusiasm is bound to pick up. Not only that, but you’re filling up days during the summer that might otherwise be devoted to hanging out with other kids and beginning to experiment with alcohol or drugs.

Definitely Set Aside Time for a Family Getaway Vacation

In addition to creating a checklist of lots of fun mini-vacations, it’s important for parents to make plans – and set aside time for – a family getaway vacation. This means an extended period away from home where you’re not checking voice mails or texting back and forth to the office, and no working during vacation, either. You and your spouse need to spend what is often referred to as "quality time" with your children. There’s no better time to do that than on a summer vacation.

If money is a problem, there are ways to economize and still take an extended week-end (Thursday through Sunday) and travel to visit relatives or rent inexpensive lodging at a family motel that serves complimentary breakfast buffets.

For ideas, think of traveling to places that broaden your children’s appreciation of history, or give them an experience that they’ve never had before such as visiting a wilderness park – Glacier National Park in Montana, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Yosemite National Park in California, and the Grand Canyon in Arizona, just to name a few.

Maybe you and your spouse have never visited one of these magnificent parks. It is truly amazing how the experience can change your perceptions of life. You realize that nature as exemplified in these great national parks is beautiful and awesome, fierce in its power, and holding steadfast through the ages. This will be something incredible to share with your children.

It doesn’t have to be a trip that extensive to be memorable – and worthwhile. Once you sit down and start charting out plans for a family getaway vacation, you’ll come up with your own stellar choices.

Assign Daily Chores

While the idea of sleeping in late sounds appealing to kids eager to be away from school’s daily grind, you don’t want your children to have endless hours to while away without something to keep them occupied – and out of trouble.

One way to carve out a chunk of that time is to give your kids daily chores to do. By assigning them little jobs around the house or in the yard, you’ll be giving them more than just something to do. You’ll also be helping them take responsibility for their share of the household duties. Everyone needs to do their part, and this is a lesson that children should be learning while they’re young – not when they’re out in the world on their own and wondering why things just don’t get done by themselves.

If you’ve never given much thought to having your children do things around the house, especially if you or your spouse have always done them, now’s the time to give this idea some serious consideration. It doesn’t have to be back-breaking, tedious work. In fact, it definitely shouldn’t be something like that. But you do want to make sure that whatever it is you assign your children that they can do and complete in the time allocated. Be sure to check to ensure that the chore(s) have gotten done when you return home and give praise to your children for a job well-done.

Prepare and Eat Meals Together

With so much to do these days, family mealtime often is a matter of grabbing what you can whenever you can. One way to give your kids plenty to do this summer so they don’t abuse alcohol and drugs is to make it a family rule that everyone in the family pitches in to prepare the evening meal – and eat together.

During the meal, take the time to ask about each child’s day – and listen to the answers. If there’s been a problem, make sure that you handle it promptly. You might need to say that you’ll discuss the issue more in-depth right after dinner, and if you do say that, make sure that you follow through on it.

Encourage laughter and family sharing during the evening meal. Definitely don’t allow any cell phones at the table and no texting either. Make sure the television is turned off, too. What you’re striving for is a daily meal shared with family where nothing else intrudes. It’s not an impossible suggestion. And once you initiate this as part of your household routine, it will become something you and your children look forward to.

Encourage Sports and Outdoor Recreational Activities

There’s nothing like invigorating exercise in the form of sports and outdoor recreational activities to keep kids busy and engaged in healthy and safe things to do during the summer. As parents, you can start things off by stressing – and practicing – healthier lifestyle choices that include taking regular walks together as a family, taking up a particular sport that you can share with your children, and watching their sports activities to cheer them on.

During the summer, when school is out and there are no school-related sports activities, see if you can get your child enrolled in a community sports league or arrange with other parents to create a team of your own. Even a group of teens that regularly meet to play a particular sport – with adults supervising – can be a great way to give your teens a way to expend their energy and feel good about themselves in the process.

It’s a well-known fact that vigorous exercise helps tone and keeps muscles in shape, and helps to promote self-esteem among teens that are proving that they can participate in competitive sports.

Maybe enroll your teen in classes so that they can learn how to swim, play racquetball or basketball, horseback riding or other activities that get them out of the house and doing something that’s good for their development and is safe.

Find Out What Motivates Your Teen

If you’re at a loss figuring out what it will take to keep your teen safely occupied during the summer hiatus from school – and thus away from the temptations of alcohol and drugs – you might try finding out what motivates your teen. What is it that he or she is really interested in? If you get to that core element, you can then begin to plan activities around your child’s central interest.

Be prepared for a little digging, however. If you haven’t already established an open and honest relationship with your kids, this might be tough doing. Even parents who have a good sense of mutual trust and communications may sometimes find it difficult to pinpoint just what it is that their teens are really excited about.

The effort will pay off in the long run. You just need to keep at it without seeming to nag. It’s better to be proactive than to sit around and do nothing, hoping that your children will somehow steer clear of drugs and alcohol in the hours while you’re away from home – and they’re bored and looking for something to do.

Get to Know Your Teens’ Friends and Families

It’s also helpful to take the effort to get to know your teens’ friends and their families. Why is this important? For one thing, you want to have the security of knowing just who it is that your children spend time with. If you know that this friend or that is a good student, well-liked, respectful towards others, and has a good relationship with his or her parents, you’ll be more likely to agree to having your child participate in events and activities with that teen.

In the same way, you want to know that if you allow your child to go over to a friend’s house, that that child’s parents know what’s going on and are either present or have another adult around that can supervise or monitor the teens’ activities.

This is a bit of networking that takes some time to do, but again, in the long run, is very much worth all the effort it takes. Watching out for each other’s children is a great way to practice community parenting – in the best sense of the word.

Prep Work for Parents

Of course, as parents, you also need to do a little advance work before you face the prospect of having your children home for the summer. Make sure that there is no alcohol left in reach of your children. Keep it locked away or, better yet, don’t keep any in the house at all. Easy access to alcohol is the first step toward experimentation and abuse.

In the same manner, lock up all prescription and over-the-counter drugs that have the potential for abuse. While your child may not engage in drug use, he or she may be convinced by friends to sell or trade them for other drugs or money. Again, no access means less opportunity to abuse alcohol and drugs.

Suppose You Find Out They’re Using

If it comes about that you discover – or suspect – that your child is drinking or doing drugs, don’t pretend that it’s a one-time event or think that it’s just normal adolescent behavior. You have to stop the behavior in its tracks.

Let your child know the family ground rules about no drinking and drug use permitted. Establish clear guidelines and consequences for infractions – and be prepared to deal with the incidents, should they occur, quickly and firmly.

If necessary, enlist the help of a school guidance counselor, your family doctor or other healthcare professional. They can advise next steps to take if your child is at risk for developing or already has a problem with alcohol or drugs.

Bottom line: Give your kids plenty of things to do this summer so they don’t abuse alcohol and drugs. The more you pay attention to your children and what’s going on in their lives, the better chance you have to avert potential bad behavior that could turn into addictive behavior.

Roughly half of the students completed the surveys up till they were 25 or 26 years of age. Students were questioned regarding alcohol, smoking, and drug use as well as their involvement in sports and exercise. Interestingly, involvement in sports did not curb alcohol use among youngsters. Those who played team sports were shown to drink more than their peers. And, those who drank earlier on were more likely to continue the habit into adulthood.

Researchers suspect that drinking may be seen as a social bonding activity amongst teammates. After all, major sporting events such as the Super Bowl, which define American culture, are laced with televised beer ads all throughout the game. There are many other possible reasons why athletes might be more prone to drink than those who do not exercise or participate in team sports. There might be peer pressure to drink in celebration of an evening’s win. Some kids might drink to deal with pressure from parents and coaches to perform. Others may just carry that same competitive spirit they have on the field to the party scene with friends.

Whatever the case may be, the study underscores the importance of alcohol education and prevention programs for those participating in sports. While particpating in sports is not a guarantee that a child will stay drug or alcohol free, it does improve chances he/she will live a healthy lifestyle overall. The results of the study were also fairly consistent with prior studies on the subject.

A 2000 study published in the journal, "Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine," surveyed 14,000 U.S. high school students. Results from that study showed that those participating in sports were not as likely to be involved in experimenting in drugs as those not a part of sports. Their overall perception of drugs in general was also negative.

Researchers caution that data from the studies does not confirm a direct cause – effect relationship between playing sports and decreased drug use. There could be other factors that play into these results. Parental involvement, busy game schedules, and a focus on being healthy and in getting in shape might all have an effect on staying away from substance abuse.

In addition to avoiding drugs, the 2000 study notes that female athletes were also less likely to have engaged in sexual intercourse than their non-athletic peers in the prior three-month period. Both male and female athletes also reported eating more fruits and vegetables, important building blocks for a healthy diet. The study authors note that while drug use is the main focus of the study, the positive behaviors induced by sports are significant.

A recent review of studies examining the effectiveness of school-based programs may encourage additional funding from the government. The large, international systematic review looked at 41 studies in North America, six in Europe and six in Australia, one in India and one in Swaziland. Two additional studies were conducted in multiple locations.

The review of the studies showed that the programs showed significant results in some areas, including episodes of drunkenness and binge drinking. This information is contrary to what many studies have shown that the school-based approach is not always effective.

David Foxcroft of Oxford Brookes University in England was the lead author for the review. Foxcroft explained that according to the analysis, school programs that use a social skills-focused curriculum or that are based on improving classroom behavior often work to reduce alcohol problems in young people.

Co-author Alexander Tsertsvadze of the University of Ottawa Evidence-Based Practice Center worked with Foxcroft to analyze the 53 randomized controlled trials conducted in a wide range of countries. The participants were all aged 5 to 18 when the studies were initiated.

The analysis included a large number of studies that targeted risky behaviors like drinking, smoking and drug abuse. The other studies assessed alcohol-specific programs.

The researchers examined the drinking habits of those who took part in the various types of programs and compared them with students who did not take part in any type of prevention program.

The analysis revealed evidence that supported the endorsement of certain types of generic prevention programs in favor of alcohol-specific programs. The authors specifically mentioned the Life Skills Training Program, the Unplugged Program and the Good Behavior Game as curriculum that resulted in effective interventions.

The findings of the review are published in the May 2011 issue of The Cochrane Library, which publishes findings of systematic reviews such as the analysis of school-based programs.

The findings of the study are important because they may impact how funding is issued to school-based programs. The cost of implementing school programs may seem daunting to policymakers, but considering the public health cost of alcohol abuse and related problems, it may be a very cost-effective way to prevent alcohol use in teenagers.

A posting on CBS News highlights what the academy says are the most common problems parents may encounter when trying to keep their teens away from drugs and alcohol. Among the top 14 mistakes is the problem of parents failing to let children know they do not approve of alcohol or drugs, and not telling their teen what their expectations are. Many parents may also miss some mental health illnesses or symptoms that may already be present in their teen, like depression or eating disorders, which can increase the chances that their child may experiment with drugs and alcohol.

Recent news headlines in the U.S. continue to warn parents that allowing teens to try alcohol at home is a mistake, and can lead to increased chances for higher consumption later and increasing the odds that their teen will experience serious consequences or harm from alcohol. Experts say letting teens try alcohol or drugs from the "experimentation" factor can lead to overdoses, car crashes or sexual assault.

As teens age and gain in intelligence, parents may make the mistake of believing they are also more mature. However, experts warn that intelligence does not equal maturity because the areas of the brain responsible for mature decisions are still developing on into the adult years.

More teens acquire drugs from their home medicine cabinet or a family member than from friends at school, so parents are continually urged to keep their medications in a secure, locked area and to dispose of any they are not using. Furthermore, the academy says parents should take note – their teens are definitely watching their behavior. Parents should consistently demonstrate the kinds of attitudes and behaviors toward drugs and alcohol that they want their teen to demonstrate.

Dr. Karina Weichold of the Jena University in Germany said that information is not enough, as most people already know that substance abuse is dangerous yet engage in it anyway. This suggests that prevention needs to start elsewhere.

Dr. Weichold and colleagues from the Institute of Psychology and the Center of Applied Developmental Science of the Jena University want to improve prevention methods through a program they designed called IPSY (Information and Psychosocial Competence).

The researchers gathered data from about 1,700 children between the ages of 10 and 15 from Thuringia, Germany, and the data supported the effectiveness of the IPSY program in preventing alcohol and nicotine abuse in children and adolescents.

Dr. Weichold explained that the program can achieve long-term effects, and Professor Silbereisen, who works with Dr. Weichold, said that children who took part in the IPSY program were less likely to engage in substance abuse, and that the initiation age of substance use was delayed. Silbereisen added that the program is targeted at children before their first contact with alcohol and cigarettes.

The program has been introduced in more than 100 schools in Thuringia since 2003. Silbereisen said that children and teachers who take part in IPSY are positively affected.

The researchers also found that boys and girls equally benefit from the program, and that it helps increase self-confidence in girls and communication skills in boys.

The IPSY program teaches students general skills, such as how to deal with stress, anxiety, and their own self-image. Students work in interactive learning modules on relevant topics and discuss their results with classmates and teachers.

Dr. Weichold said that IPSY lessens the likelihood that children will be susceptible to peer pressure, and they find it easier to say no to alcohol and cigarettes. The program was also found to strengthen the students’ commitment to their school, as they feel safe and that they are taken seriously.

Source: Science Daily, How Children Learn to Say ‘No’: Gender-Specific Effectiveness of a Life Skills Program Against Alcohol Consumption in Early Adolescence, April 19, 2011

When it comes to drinking, however, experts are finding that the more parents are involved, the better for teens. When parents have a hands-off approach to guiding their children when it comes to choices about alcohol, it is becoming clear that the teen suffers from a lack of guidance.

A recent study has documented some of the ways that parental involvement affects drinking decisions among adolescents. The study, conducted at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, shows that parents who are available and engaged with their kids are the most effective at preventing their children from participating in binge drinking.

The study also highlighted some factors that indicate a teen at risk for binge drinking. Those teens that smoke, stay out with their friends and have access to alcohol at home, even at a very young age, are at a greater risk for heavy alcoholic consumption as they progress to their late teen years.

Anna-Karin Danielsson, of the Department of Public Health Sciences and lead author of the study, explains that limiting the risk of heavy drinking among teens can be effectively accomplished through initiatives that focus on improving and strengthening parent-child bonds. Limiting the alcohol that teens obtain through their parents also limits the risk of the child becoming a binge drinker.

Danielsson recruited 1,200 students aged between 13 and 19 years between 2001 and 2006, and assessed risk factors for heavy alcohol consumption among them. The results of the analysis showed that when teens exhibit risky behaviors in early teen years, they are at greater risk of heavy alcohol consumption in later teen years.

Danielsson explains that it is during the early teen years when parental input can make a significant impact. For boys, the risk of binge drinking among boys who smoke and have friends who drink is lowered when parents are involved and engaged with their teen. Girls who are at an elevated risk in early teen years, however, benefit most from having a close parent-child relationship.

Danielsson’s analysis noted the difference in gender and drinking among Nordic teens and those of other European countries. In most European countries, boys typically drink more heavily than girls, but in the Nordic countries and the UK, girls commonly drank the same amount in one session as was typical for boys.

The results of the study indicate that there is an important role for parents when it comes to encouraging responsible decisions about alcohol by their teenager. Those who receive intervention early by positive involvement from their parents may avoid more serious problems as they move into later teen years.

As many as 700,000 children in the 12 to 14-years age bracket in the U.S. have experimented with alcoholic beverages they acquired at home. According to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, one study shows that within a 30-day timeframe, more than 200,000 children received alcoholic beverages from a person in their family or their mother or father.

A three-year study including data from children ages 12-14 also said that of the youth who said they had consumed alcohol in the past 30 days, one-third got it from a parent, one-third got it from a relative and one-third found it at home without being granted permission.

Culture or family traditions are cited as reasons some children receive alcohol. Some say their parents gave them tastes of alcoholic beverages while they grew up, and their parents did the same for them. Experts warn that it’s not harmless behavior, and that children whose parents let them have alcohol at home have a higher tendency to experiment with alcohol beyond the walls of home than children who don’t.

In some households, parents believe it’s acceptable to give their children alcoholic beverages because they can control their car keys and prevent their child from operating a vehicle. However, this decision may give the child a higher chance of trying alcohol when they leave the house.

Peter Delany, SAMHSA, says when parents falsely believe giving their child alcohol instead of letting them try drugs on the street is better, they’re completely wrong. According to SAMHSA data, a child who consumes alcohol before he or she reaches the age of 15 has a five times higher chance of developing an addiction to alcohol or drugs by the time they reach 21, or in the timespan following that milestone birthday.

Accidents from risky behavior induced by alcohol are also a serious concern. Each year, around 5,000 people below the age of 21 lose their lives from accidents connected to alcohol, such as falling or drowning.

The situation of parents giving children alcohol seems to be a global problem. In England and Wales, a survey said that for around a fourth of children – 23 percent – who were becoming intoxicated monthly were getting the alcohol from parents. Only a small percentage said they needed to keep the behavior secret from their parents or caregivers.

Complications from underage drinking extend far, including a greater likelihood that the child or preteen will commit acts of violence. One U.K. study suggests that more than 25 percent of children who consumed alcohol on average of one to three occasions monthly were involved in a violent incident.

The chances for drug abuse also increase when children consume alcohol, with 28 percent in the U.K. study saying they had experimented with drugs, in comparison to only one percent of the children who had not consumed alcohol who reported trying drugs.

Parents are urged not to underestimate the consequences of giving their children alcohol, ranging from health and school problems, acts of violence, a tendency for drug use and problems with alcohol abuse later in life. They are also urged to talk to their kids early about the dangers of alcohol, and to keep talking over and over again.