Comments on: How Do We Stop Teenage Binge Drinking?

By: Mark

Mark — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:51:22 +0000

Binge drinking is a serious problem, one that will not go away. It has been going on for a very long time. Education is a great tool and so are real stories of consequences and tragedies. The best tool to avoid this behaviour is to live by example and to teach over and over again the morals and ethics of character, and hope your job has served your children a cornerstone to follow.

By: Qasim

Qasim — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 06:14:27 +0000

I am not sure on this one. I believe that panerts of course are a very vital role and shape the child. However, you can have the best panerts in the world that shower you with love and affection and that child can still turn to drugs. You don’t have to be around the drugs to become an addict. I grew up in a house where drugs were normal. I did end up doing meth and I became an alcoholic also. Now, my mother is still an addict and it has shown me how much I don’t want to be like her. I have friends that grew up in loving and nurturing environments and still turned to the dark side that provided something for them that they thought they needed. I have made it a point to not ever drink infront of my children and I had gotten sober from meth when my oldest son was 2, but I do not shelter them from knowing the dangers of drugs. it is unfortunate that I have had to show my son the dark side of drugs due to the fact that he can have no contact with his grandmother due to this. I always use that saying that my panerts did the best they could with what they knew. I just had to make sure and not repeat this vicious cycle with my children. I am very fortunate to work in an atmosphere that teaches me how to deal with these issues.

By: Filbert

Filbert — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:53:39 +0000

I don’t think that anyone can ever stop a teen from drinking. However, I must say that there is a clear distinction between consuming alcohol and binge drinking. My father always talked about “consumer everything in moderation”. Although that statement has no scientific proof but I believe this applies for consuming alcohol. I believe that parents should teach their children about the dangers of alcoholic drinks (and having too much of it) when their kids start asking about having alcoholic drinks. Let me say that these dangers are very real and no one should ever think that such health risks will not become a reality.

By: canada goose

canada goose — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:20:16 +0000

“Forewarned is forearmed” to avoid persons who binge drink and for substance abusers to learn a better way. You are NOT judgmental to avoid persons who have iffy behavior and anyone who says that is judgmental to not allow you to be who you are by NOT participating or being around their iffy behavior, i.e., binge drinking. Not because you think you are better per se’ yet because ANYONE can become ensnared so it is self preservation.

By: Sofie

Sofie — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:55:04 +0000

Everything thats forbidden for people to do, like underage drinking, is so much more tempting and exciting then when alowed.
I live in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and im now 20 years old. Were alowed to drink when we pass the age of 16(soft drinks like beer and wine) and when enter 18, any alcohoc drink. We all prety much start drinking from an age of 15, but this usualy starts in company of our own parents. For example: A class of wine at the diner table. This way parents have the control to show and teach their kids whats the propriot way of having a drink. This way in the “proces” we start knowing how much we can handle and what amount of drink would actually be fun, instead of dont know where you would cross your own line; getting uncontroled, puke all over the place and wake up with a huge hangover or in worst case cenario; even dont wake up. I’ve seen this uncontroled drinking in the U.S myself, and also read/heard a lot about this isue. Its good to tell your child the right and wrongs in live but wouldnt it be even better to show and actually TEACH them. Safe them a room to party in your own house, this way you may actually see and know what going on with your kids and youd be able to control it when its crossing the line. This builds a lot of trust in both ways and you know your kid is safely under your own consern instead of others somewhere behind your back into the woods near to a swamp.

So I thinks the only solution to this problem and many other isues in the US has started with making it taboe, rather look the other way instead of facing it.

By: Liz

Liz — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 11:03:45 +0000

Binge drinking is not the problem, it’s the solution. Yet another coping mechanism. The problem is the fact that children and teenagers are feeling the way that they are about their lives to the point that they feel the need to drink. And not just drink, but get drunk, wasted and stupid. When someone feels like these kids do; going out and getting drunk, hitting people and being hit, it feels GOOD. Breaking things feels better than being broken.
There’s yet another generation seeking attention and getting nothing but discipline. These are the same children that cried every 20 minutes as toddlers, screamed in shopping centres at 5, the ones that cut themselves at 13 and started drinking, partying and having sex by 15….
This is not due to lack of discipline, and enforcing further penalties and rules on these PEOPLE will not “make them start behaving”. Just like with any other person, you have to find out why they’re doing it, what is their motivation and most importantly what are they getting out of it. If you want them to stop doing this, you have to convince them that not drinking is worth it, in fact better than drinking. Not by scaring them with the consequences – often that, or the danger of it, is half the motivation – but by actually convincing them, making them feel as if they don’t need to drink. If their lives were satisfying without alcohol and partying, then they wouldn’t be doing it.

By: Philip Jenkinson

Philip Jenkinson — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:24:43 +0000

Here in northern Ireland there is a debate about how to tackle underage drinking, one of the proposals put forward is to have each pub and off license, within a town, use different colored plastic bags, or make the bags unique to each establishment. If teenagers are caught with alcohol in one of the bags then the pub/off license faces a fine for serving the teenagers.

By: kelligirl

kelligirl — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 17:25:04 +0000

my heart goes out to the family who has lost greatly in this situation.

i have read every one of these comments and i dont know if americans just think differently than canadians, but our drinking age is 19, and i am sure there have been some problems with drinking/and driving but i havent heard very much at all about bindge drinking in ontario.
As far as sueing children for something they do not yet have the ability to see the consequences in is stupid, but to use them in another way like talking to other students over and over might help.
canadians seem to think of the greater good for everyone, when tragic things like this happen to one. we embrace each other and try to learn as much as we can. Americans usually think only of themselves or its never their fault personally,so they sue each other making everyone bitter, and know one wins
you cant push it off on anyone else to teach kids about alcohol there is only one leader THE parents,there can be many followers, only one leader. now one of the comments was made that Maybe they cant teach cause they dont know…. well i am sorry they do know safety and just pure common sense safety when their child goes out for the evening.. simple questions like where are you going to be? who will you be with? if my parents didnt like the people i wasent going.

and has anyone ever heard of the buddy system, just like a designated driver, one person stays sober and parents check before their child goes out which
friend has the job. now parents can take down every ones cell # especially the sober one…its not hard if parents want to take the time for their child mine
did it for me, i hated it but by the time university came around i was looking for safe minded people myself

By: Cupid

Cupid — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:04:50 +0000

The only way to even deter teenage drinking I believe is to not drink as a parent. Most teens see other teens drinking, know most of their parents did the same when they were teens, and think it’s no big deal.

By: David N. Starkey

David N. Starkey — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 05:18:02 +0000

Dr. Phil,
As you know and we’ve both studied the death’s related to drunk driving, and the actual disease this drug has cost so many families. Over thirteen thousand die each year as a result of drunk driving accidents. Now I live in a small town in Arkansas; That would basically “wipe-out” Garfield, or Clinton. And if a whole town were to be wiped off the map by a tornado; the government would step-in; but while 13,000 deaths take place over a one year period, our government finds that acceptable? In my opinion, alcohol is the worst of all drugs by evidenced in so many polls and I think it should be outlawed. Call me crazy, I know there are people that can and do drink responsibly, but it’s not necessarily something we’d miss. Or I’ll speak for myself, if me not having a glass of table wine occassionally would save even one life, it would be worth it.
Warmest Regards; David Starkey
p.s. I’m a grandfather of two beautiful grandchildren, and I grow more giddy as they get older. Be Well Man, love y’all…