In the last blog I talked about use of alcohol by teens and their parents. Now, I would like to offer a couple of things all parents and their teens should do to keep teens from driving after drinking or riding with someone who has been drinking. Drunk driving kills more than 12,000 people in the USA every year and is responsible for more than half of all motor vehicle accidents. In addition, every year teens, as well as adults, die of alcohol poisoning. The actions below will help to lower those statistics.
1) Prepare a written contract between you and your teens and tweens to agree that the you will pick them up, at any time without comment, if he/she calls for help because of a drinking “situation”. Such a situation might be that they are at a party where there is alcohol or drugs, or the person who is going to drive them home has been drinking, or your teen has been drinking and is the driver. You need to make it clear that they will not be punished for calling you out of bed even if they are the ones who have been drinking. You might even grant a reward if they call to get out of an alcohol or drug “infested” party or to avoid riding home with a driver who has been drinking. While you should not punish them for calling and asking for help, there must be a clause outlining what action will be taken to prevent the situation from occurring again.
2) Prepare another contract stating that your child will call 911 or take a friend or acquaintance to an emergency room if he/she shows signs of alcohol poisoning. Review the signs from the previous blog with your children while writing the contract. Stipulate that you will not punish that action but, will address, the following day, what needs to be done to be sure you teen is not in that situation again.
Most all teens will abide by a contract they have helped draft and have signed. Their signature will be as good as yours. These simple contracts can save your teens’ lives or that of their friends.
For more facts on teens and alcohol go to http://www.madd.org/statistics/