Young people and alcohol

Teenagers outside discoTeenage drinking carries risks and even experimenting with alcohol on one occasion can create problems for your teenager. This is because your teenager is still growing and developing. Teenage bodies, minds and emotions are still maturing, so are very vulnerable to the immediate effects of alcohol.

Teenagers need clear messages from parents that underage drinking is unacceptable. This reduces the risk of problem drinking in adult life. Before you can talk to your teenager about drinking and set limits, you need to know how alcohol can affect them.

No matter what teenagers say or what you think, they want parents to talk to them about alcohol. They want their parents to be informed; know the facts; and set limits for them.

The most important thing that you can do as a parent is to support your teenager to delay drinking. If you do this, the risks of harmful drinking are much lower in later life.

 

Fact or Myth

Alcohol problems are mostly caused by 'alcoholics'.

fact or myth

Myth: Immediate problems like motor accidents, violent assaults and accidental injury are mostly caused by moderate drinkers who occasionally overdo it.

Drinking coffee sobers you up?

fact or myth

Myth: Your liver is like a car with one gear. It can only work at one speed. So there is only one cure for drunkenness - time. Drinking coffee will make you wide awake and drunk. Taking a cold shower will make you cold, wet and drunk.

A 'blackout' is when you pass out from drink?

fact or myth

Myth: It's a type of memory loss. Your friends can recite what you did, but you can't. It is an early warning sign to cut down.

It is not safe to drink when you're pregnant?

fact or myth

Fact: The alcohol enters your baby's bloodstream, therefore the safest thing for your baby is not to drink at all. Regular heavy drinking can cause foetal alcohol syndrome, which causes serious developmental problems for your baby's development.

Women can't 'hold' their drink as well as men?

fact or myth

Fact: Men have more bodily fluids than women, so alcohol is more diluted in their systems. This goes even for women and men of the same height and build.

Alcohol causes as much damage to society as heroin?

fact or myth

Myth: Alcohol causes much more damage than heroin and all the other illegal drugs put together. It is a factor in 88% of public order offences, 34% of marital breakdowns and 33% of fatal road accidents.

There's nothing to do around here except drink?

fact or myth

Myth: Drinking is a big feature of Irish social life, but is not the only pastime. Take a minute to think of three non-drinking things you could do. It's just a matter of looking at things differently.

Fact Myth
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